Finding What's Missing
by othfan326
Summary: Set four years after season 4.  Whitey's death brings everyone together again.  Feelings long held resurface.  Major BL, some NH, and eventually PJ I dont own OTH...duh
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Lucas Scott is a successful writer who lives in Tree Hill. He just moved into his new house, and is trying to write his second book. Trying. His editor is pushing him with new deadlines that just can't meet. Why? "Something's missing" he'd simply reply. Lucas is single, having not dated anyone in three and a half years. He is a dedicated uncle, big brother, and friend. As Lucas says, he's "content", never happy, just content…most of the time.

Brooke Davis is incredibly successful, she's the new it girl in fashion and the New York celebrity scene. She always puts on a smile when at events. She answers all the right questions in all the right ways in the most talked about interviews. Except one…the question that always kills her to answer. The question about Tree Hill. Brooke hasn't been home since that summer, though she has always wanted to go back, he new life gave her an excuse not to revisit old, painful memories. Though she was also single, Brooke found often found herself out on the town with different guys, different famous faces that Brooke's publicist berated her to go out with for her image. 'Anything for the company' is what she's been saying.

Haley James Scott finally feels as though things were going to be okay again. She was about to start her first year as an English teacher at Tree Hill high, her son Jamie was starting pre-school, and Nathan had finally begun to move on. Something in the back of her mind said she was going to get her family back soon.

Nathan Scott realized that for the first time in months, he had something to look forward to again. After a serious injury ended his basketball career in March, he spent the next four months moping. Now coming up on Labor Day weekend, Nathan decided it was time to put his life back together. He would start coaching the Ravens next month, he would start taking care of his son, and most of all he would start to try to reconnect with Haley.

Peyton Sawyer had decided that it was time to go back home. She has been in LA for the past four years, and now she has nothing left to do there. Peyton was still single. A few months after high school she told Lucas she was staying in LA, ending their relationship for a dream she never reached. Two years later Peyton dropped out of college to pursue a career in the music industry. Another two years and three dead end jobs later, she was going home. Scared, but finally ready.


	2. Chapter 2

It was 9:30 on a Wednesday morning. Lucas was walking out of the Café with a coffee in one hand and Lily holding his other.

"Wait!'

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, surprised and scared by her tone.

Without saying anything Lily ran back into the café, grabbed her teddy, gave her mom one last kiss and ran back out to Lucas. "Ready" she said in a cheery tone. Lucas just looked down at his sister and laughed.

"So where did you park the car?"

"Across the street." Lucas said as he looked across, and almost doing a double take, looked at a familiar person standing outside Thud magazine's office.

"Peyton?" Lucas called across the street. Startled, she looked up and saw Lucas, and immediately looked down. Too late, Lucas picked Lily up and ran across the street.

"Hi" Peyton said quietly, unaware of how to talk to Lucas.

"Hey!" Lucas said in a surprisingly friendly tone. "It's good to see you. So, are you back? I mean, are you visiting or are you staying?"

"Staying" Peyton said, suspicious of his kindness. Lucas immediately picked up on this.

"You wanna know why I'm being so nice to you." he said and chuckled. "Look, after we broke up, I was, well I was confused, it took me a few weeks later I realized I wasn't mad or anything, I just decided that if I ever saw you again we should be friends. And it took four years, but here you are."

"Yeah…here I am." she said uncomfortably.

"Can we go?" Lily said as she started tugging on Lucas jacket.

"In a minute, there is someone I would like you to meet. Lily, this is Peyton, an old friend of mine."

"Hi Peyton"

"Hi Lily, it's nice to see you again, you're a lot bigger now"

Lily looked confused. "Can I get in the car?"

"Sure" Lucas said as he unlocked it. Lily quickly hopped in. "Hurry up" she said as she buckled her seat belt.

"Wow" Peyton said.

"Yeah…um, so I was just going over to Nathan and Haley's if you want to come? They'd be really happy to see you."

"Um, I have a meeting" she said pointing to the Thud sign beside them. "Now that I'm back I need a job, so I figured I'd start a strip again."

"That's great"

"Yeah. So, uh, I should go"

"Right. Well don't be a stranger Peyton." Lucas said as he got in the car and drove off, leaving Peyton standing on the street even more confused about what she was doing in Tree Hill.

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10 minutes later Lucas pulled up Nathan and Haley's driveway. Lily ran out of the car, up the steps and into the house. Lucas followed a minute later.

"Hey Uncle Lucas!" Jamie yelled as he ran up to Lucas and hugged him.

"Hey Jamie." Lucas said as he picked Jamie up and roughed him up a bit.

"Put me down!" Jamie screamed between laughs as Lucas carried him into the kitchen where Haley was waiting.

"Hey Hales"

"Hey"

"So you'll never believe who I ran into today"

"Who?" Haley said not paying attention.

"Peyton"

"What!?" she said, shocked.

"Yeah, apparently she's back, and really quiet."

"That's great…so uh, how did the first confrontation go?"

"What do you mean?"

"Please, you haven't seen her in years. Don't tell me there weren't any lingering feelings." Haley said.

"Actually, there weren't any. I always thought there would be when I saw her again, but...nothing…….Which I'm happy with, before you even ask."

"Okay." Haley said eyeing him, but seeing no evidence that he was lying.

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A few hours later, Nathan and Lucas were at the Rivercourt. They were both taking slow shots, neither working pretty hard.

"So you excited for the new job? You have one week before school starts. You nervous?"

"A little" Nathan said, obviously he had something else on his mind.

"Nate, what's going on? I haven't seen you like this in weeks. I told you about Peyton, I asked about the new job, and no response. What's going on?"

Nathan walked over to the picnic table and sat down, rubbing the brace around his knee.

"Is your knee okay?

"Yeah, I'm fine, that's not it." Nathan said. "Luke you should probably sit down for this."

Lucas walked over and sat next to his brother, waiting for him to continue.

"There's no easy way to tell you this, but uh, you see-"

"Nathan, please just tell me, you're scaring me."

"Haley and I got a call from the school yesterday….Whitey died."


	3. Chapter 3

Lucas stared blankly ahead. After what seemed like hours Lucas started to try to form words. "Whe-, when uh, is his funeral?"

Nathan sighed, "Sunday. Haley has been calling people to ask them to come. She called your mom right before you came over, and I think she called Peyton when we left." Seeing that Lucas wasn't responding he continued. "Uh, she spoke to Skillz and Mouth, who are both coming in on Friday night."

Lucas nodded. "I need to go home. Can you watch Lily for a few more hours?"

"Of course."

Lucas slowly stood up and walked to his car and drove home.

Once he got there he sat on his bed and just stared at his closet. After a few minutes he got up and started rummaging through the boxes in the back. Finally he found two boxes and put them on his desk. He opened one and started sifting through pictures of the team, of Whitey. There were ones at his 500th win, at the state championship, and almost every game in between. Lucas sat on the floor and leaned his back against his bed, tears starting to form in his eyes. Suddenly he felt more lost than ever.

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The next day, in a crowded restaurant Brooke Davis sat with her publicist, assistant, and two other executives from Clothes over Bros. They were discussing their ideas for the company's next big move, which meant Brooke's next big move. But as much as important as the meeting was to her, she once again found herself staring off into the distance thinking of Tree Hill and the people she left behind. This "episode", as her publicist referred to them as, were becoming more and more common.

"Brooke?"

"Yeah" she said, snapping out of her daydream.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing"

"Brooke"

"Sheryl" Brooke said to her publicist. "Look, everything you guys have been saying sounds fine. I'm not really feeling well, so if you don't mind, I'm gonna go home for a bit, but we'll talk later."

"I'll come with you. We need to talk about some stuff" Sheryl said as she got up with Brooke, who just rolled her eyes as she made her way for the door to the car waiting for her.

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In the car, Brooke stared out the window, as Sheryl stared at her.

"You're thinking about home again, aren't you?" Sheryl said, clearly annoyed. "What are you thinking about?" she tried again.

"No one" Brooke said, not realizing she just sent her publicist into a code red by saying 'no one' instead of 'no-thing'.

"So, about Labor Day weekend," Sheryl said, clearly trying to change the subject.

"What about it?" Brooke said, knowing what was coming next, and visibly tired of it.

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"You'll be attending that party in the Hamptons. I'll let you fly solo on this one, but you have to be social. That's what everyone is expecting, what the press is expecting." Sheryl said as they walking into Brooke's spacious apartment. She threw her keys on the table and played her messages. The first was from her assistant, reminding her about the brunch meeting. The second was a familiar voice.

"_Hey" Haley's voice said shyly from the voicemail._

Brooke was stunned

"Who is th-"

"Shh!" Brooke hissed, curious about the message.

_" It's Haley, you know, tutor girl if you remember. So I know we haven't talked in a while, and I'm sorry about that, but I have something important to tell you." Haley paused. "Uh, Whitey died. I know you're really busy, but I was hoping that you could make it to the funeral, it's this Sunday. Uh, everybody is taking it pretty hard, and no one puts a smile on his face like you do. So if you do come, please call me. Bye Brooke." the message cut off._

"Who was that?' Sheryl asked

"Haley"

"And who was the guy who died?"

"Whitey."

"And who is this mystery guy that you can make smile?" she said, very annoyed.

Brooke didn't respond.

"Look, I'm sorry, but you have to go out to the Hamptons tomorrow." Sheryl said insensitively.

Brooke didn't respond to that either, she didn't hear the comment because her head was spinning. Though she was upset about Whitey, she couldn't help but feel relieved that she found a reason to go home. She looked at Sheryl, considered telling her what she was going to do, but she knew the reaction she would get. Instead she picked up her phone and called Lauren, her assistant.

"Lauren…yeah, I'm feeling a bit better, thanks…look I need a ticket for a flight to Tree Hill, North Carolina…Tomorrow morning….yeah I know…Thanks so much…talk to you soon." Brooke said before hanging up and looking at Sheryl, surprisingly not afraid of what was about to come at her.

"Are you crazy!" Sheryl screamed. "You know how important this weekend is—"

"I know" Brooke said calmly, then she began to smile. "But I have to go home." She opened the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to pack."

"You better call later."

Brooke closed the door and walked into her room, grabbed a bag, and went to her closet. But before she could take anything out she stopped, grabbed the phone and called Haley.

"Hey…its me…I know…we'll talk about that tomorrow…yeah, so you think you could pick me up from the airport?"

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The next day, Friday morning, Brooke found herself walking through a familiar airport.

About a half an hour later, Brooke and Haley were driving back to Tree Hill.

"I can't believe you're back!" Haley squealed. "It's so good to finally see you."

"It's great to be back" Brooke said as she smiled at Haley. The first genuine smile she made in a long time.

"So anyone you're particularly excited about seeing?"

Brooke hesitated, started to answer, but didn't finish.

"New subject. So, are you crashing with me?"

"Are you sure? I mean I don't want to intrude or-"

"Please, it's my pleasure. Besides, now we get to catch up, and you get to know your godson."

Brooke smiled, which quickly faded. "I'm so sorry Haley that I wasn't there for him over the past four years. I'll make it up to him, I promise."

"It's ok, what's important is that you are here now."

They both smiled, and then fell silent for a moment. Then Haley broke the silence.

"You know he misses you. He won't admit it, but he's not the same without you."

"I miss him too, more than you could ever imagine" Brooke said. "But I don't think we should talk about him right now"

"That's going to be a bit harder than you think" Haley said as they pulled up into the driveway...


	4. Chapter 4

"I doubt that it'll be that hard" Brooke said as she and Haley walked into the house. "I've gotten pretty good at hiding my personal life and how I feel."

"Not exactly what meant."

As they walked inside they could hear two people laughing in the distance.

"Hey Hales!" a voice yelled in the distance. "We're coming. Jamie and I were just playing video games. Nathan'll be back from rehab in about t—Brooke?"

"Lucas" Brooke said, shocked to be seeing him so soon. "Hi" she added nervously. She walked up to him and hugged him to hide the expression on her face.

Lucas hugged her tightly. Closing his eyes and embracing the girl he's missed so much. At that moment something changed in Lucas, a change that only those around him could see. One that truly made him happy…Brooke was home and suddenly he wasn't so lost.

Then Nathan walked in. Brooke and Lucas snapped out of the sort of trance they were in to greet Nathan.

"Hey Nate!" Brooke said as she ran over to hug him.

"Brooke, it's great to see you again." he said sincerely. "I'm sorry to ruin this wonderful reunion, but we'll have time for that later. Now, I went to rehab, Luke, now you get to write."

Lucas, who, unbeknownst to Brooke, had been staring at her the whole time. He groaned at the idea of going back to his computer. "I guess I'll see you for dinner. Bye Jamie!" he called as he said his goodbyes and walked out the door.

"Oh, I'm so screwed"

"Don't worry, he couldn't take his eyes off you." Haley said.

Brooke gave her a look, proving how oblivious she was earlier. "But dinner, the awkwardness will be taken to a whole new level."

"I doubt it," Nathan said. "You have no idea how excited he must be to see you…trust me."

Brooke was about to say something when her phone rang. After looking at the name, she showed her disappointment. "Um, I gotta take this, its my publicist, and if I don't talk to her soon she may have a stroke, or worse come down here."

"Go ahead" Haley said as Brooke stepped outside.

"This is going to be an interesting night." Nathan said

"An interesting weekend" Haley added, noticing it was the first comment anywhere near a joke that Nathan has made recently. She smiled softly.

"What's so funny?"

"Like you said, it'll be interesting."

With that Nathan kissed Haley on the head and made his way into the other room to see Jamie. Brooke then walked back in, visibly upset over he phone call.

"Everything alright?" Haley asked.

"Not according to Sheryl, but she'll just have to deal with that. So! When do I get to see Jamie?"

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That evening Lucas, Brooke, Nathan, Haley, Skillz, and Mouth were all going to Naley's for dinner.

Lucas walks in and sees Haley in the kitchen.

"Hey"

"Hey Luke"

"Need any help?"

"I think I got it, but thanks. The guys are out back."

"Thanks. Um Hales?" Lucas asked

"Yeah?"

"Brooke's…"

"With Jamie….and now walking up behind you." Haley said as she motioned to Brooke and Jamie walking in.

"Uncle Lucas!" Jamie yelled as he ran to his uncle.

"Hey buddy" Lucas picked him up and spun him around, then put him down again. "So I see you've met Brooke."

"Uh-huh. She's cool." Jamie said. "So what's for dinner?"

Everyone laughed.

"It's a surprise, and it'll be ready in a few minutes, so why don't you go upstairs and wash up. Okay?"

Jamie nodded and ran out of the room.

"So!" Haley said, breaking the silence. "Did you get any work don't today Luke?"

"Actually," he smiled as he spoke. "I got some done."

"I wonder why" Haley said under breath and laughed, knowing the real reason why Lucas was able to write today.

"I think I'm gonna go out back for a sec" Lucas said, picking up on what Haley was thinking.

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Lucas walked outside to go say hi to the guys, leaving Brooke and Haley alone in the kitchen.

"This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought." Brooke said

"Why don't you try just talking to him about it. I mean he obviously feels the same way. If you two weren't so worried about your own feelings you would realize it."

"Harsh, but true tutor girl, harsh but true." Brooke said slinking into a chair. "Okay, so here's the thing, I'd talk to him, but I mean I'm going back to New York in two days, its not like anything is gon—" Brooke couldn't finish her excuse, she just received another angry e-mail from Sheryl because Brooke hadn't called since that morning.

"What's that? e-mail number three?"

"Four" Brooke responded as she read the e-mail. "Basically she's pissed off because I haven't been keeping myself up to date. And because I bailed on that stupid party to come here."

"You would do that for us?" Haley said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Brooke yelled to defend herself.

"Relax; you have bigger things to worry about right now. Like the dinner that's about to start." Haley said, she then walked to door told the guys they had two mintues.

"Great" Brooke mumbled to herself. "So uh, we didn't really get to talk about this today, but uh-"

"Lucas?" Haley said, cutting her off because she already knew what the question was.

"Yeah"

"He's okay."

"Still brooding?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, but in a different way. He doesn't show it anymore if you can believe that. He just puts on a happy face for the people around him, but once in a while he lets his guard down" Haley said

"And then?"

Haley took a deep breath. "He's lonely, a little depressed sometimes, but he doesn't like to admit it."

"Oh" Brooke said

"But he looked happy today." Haley added. Brooke looked at her puzzled. "Because he saw you…now lets get this awkward dinner started," Haley said as she started walking towards the dining room.

Brooke thought about Lucas, about what his life is like now…about what her life is like now, took a deep breath, and headed to dinner.

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Throughout the dinner everyone was very polite. A little awkward, but polite. They spent most of the time trying to catch up with one another.

Brooke and Lucas had been staring at each other through most of it, but never saying more to each other than a question that wouldn't bring emotion in the answer. As the dinner wound down, Brookes phone started to buzz again.

"Number 5?" Haley asked.

"Probably" Brooke said as she picked up her phone to read the message. "Actually, no. This one's from my assistant. She said 'Please call and come back soon, Sheryl's scaring me.'"

Everyone laughed at the message. Brooke's phone started buzzing again.

"Oh, but this one is number five." Brooke said with a disappointed look on her face. "And it's a little inappropriate for me to read in front of Jamie."

"Are you serious?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, like I said, she's a little nuts, and obviously she has a short temper."

"Do you need to call her?" Mouth asked.

"Probably, but it can wait." Brooke said.

"No, go ahead, we're done here. We'll just be in the living room."

"Thanks guys, I'm really sorry." Brooke said as she walked outside to call Sheryl back.

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Ten minutes later, Lucas found himself hopelessly wondering what Brooke, who was still outside, was doing. He began to think of their memories, the time they spent together, and the way he has been longing for her for the past two years. Suddenly he needed fresh air, and he excused himself to go outside.

Once out there, he saw Brooke sitting on the front steps, fiddling with the blackberry in her hand. Lucas sat down next to her.

"Bad phone call?" he asked.

"To say the least."

"You want to talk about it?"

Brooke paused, not knowing if it was a good idea, but then began, "I called Sheryl back. Let's just say she's none too happy with me right now."

"Why? I mean you came down here for a funeral."

"Yeah, but she doesn't really care. There was some stupid event I was supposed to go to out in the Hamptons this weekend, and according to her missing an event like that is the worst thing that could possibly happen." Brooke paused, then continued. "Plus she wont get off my back about not calling more often. There isn't much going on right now anyway, besides I faxed some stuff to the office about what they'll need to do in the next few days, so I do—"

Lucas cut her off, "Relax…please."

"You're right, sorry."

"You know you should be working with someone who helps you, not makes you angry like this."

"I know, but she's the best of the best. Without her I wouldn't be anywhere close to where I am today, so I guess I just put up with it….so why are you out here?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Uh, I just needed some air all of a sudden."

"And you didn't go out back?"

"Well I figured that you've been out here for a while, so I might as well come out and check on you."

"Thanks"

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Lucas finally cut in, "You wanna take a walk?"

"Now? What about everyone inside?"

"They'll survive, so do you want to?"

Brooke hesitated, not knowing if she could handle being alone with Lucas, "Sure" she finally responded.

Lucas and Brooke walked around for nearly an hour. They were catching up on each other's lives. There were often periods of silence, silence they were surprisingly comfortable with when they were together, but they knew there was another silence following them. It was the one that took up the space where they should have been telling each other how they felt, what was really meaningful to them. But they didn't say anything, not yet.

As the approached Naley's house again, the two once again sat down on the front steps, not knowing what to do next.

After another minute of silence Brooke finally decided to ask him something she had been waiting to, something that she didn't really expect to want to ask.

"Are you happy?" she quietly asked.

Lucas looked at her for a long time, then said, "That's a complicated question."  
"I know" she simple responded, waiting for his real answer.

"Sort of" he said slowly, then continued. "I mean, when I'm with my friends and family I am…but other than that, for a while it just feels like, like something is missing." he said as he gave her his signature squint. "There are times when I am happy, hanging out with Jamie, Lily, Nathan and Haley, but other than that….I just can't seem to find something that I'm yearning for because for a while I didn't know what it was."  
"But you know now?"

He looked into her eyes, "I know now" they were locked in a trance, finally gazing into each other's eyes, they felt as though they couldn't let go. But then Brooke, feeling her emotions kick into full swing, broke the stare.

"What about you? Are you happy?" Lucas asked.

"It's complicated" Brooke said, mocking him. "But if you substitute family for work, then I guess I feel the same way as you do."

"Oh….So what are you doing tomorrow?" Lucas asked, realizing he should change the subject for Brooke's sake.

"Um, hanging out with Jamie and Hales I guess. I figured I'd just walk around a bit. It's been a while so I want to see everything again. What about you?"

Lucas sighed, "I have to go to Charleston for a quick meeting with my editor."

"On a Saturday?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, well she has to fly down here, so weekends are the easiest. But the meeting won't take that long, I haven't gotten much done lately."

"Why?"

"Like I said, something was missing."

"Right, so we should uh, go back inside, it's been a while and…" Brooke trailed off.

"Yeah" Lucas said as he and Brooke stood up and walked back in.

"Where have you two been?" Haley asked with a smirk on her face.

"Just outside, sorry it took so long." Brooke said, making her way into the room and taking a seat.

Lucas was just standing in the doorway. "I think I'm gonna head out" he said. "I'm pretty tired, but thanks for dinner, I'll talk to you soon." Lucas took one last look at Brooke, then turned and walked out the door again.

"Do I even want to ask?" Nathan asked.

Brooke shook her head no, and with that everyone got back to their conversation. Except Brooke, she was quiet for the rest of the night.

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After Lucas had driven home, he found himself wandering through his house not knowing what to do next. His mind was racing, he wanted desperately to tell Brooke how we felt, but at the same time he knew she would be leaving in two days, and he couldn't bare the thought of that. Without realizing it, Lucas made his way back into his bedroom and to his desk. He picked up one of the boxes he had taken out, and he started to look through one of them. This one wasn't of Whitey though, this one was of Brooke and him. All his pictures, all his memories came flooding back to him.


	5. Chapter 5

Just as Saturday seemed to fly by, Sunday did too. Everyone spent the day quietly moving along. Paying their respects to Whitey and remembering what he had taught them through the years.

Brooke slowly said her goodbyes, promising to stay in touch, but knew that it would be harder once she was in New York.

As Lucas watched Brooke get in the cab he couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu. He watched her drive off, wondering if he would ever see her again, if he would ever get a chance to be with her again.

After that weekend, everyone quietly went back to their lives. Nathan and Haley started work, and Lucas stopped writing again.

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Almost a week later Nathan was driving Lucas to the airport.

"So what are you doing in New York?" Nathan asked.

"Uh, I think its kinda like a bribe from my editor. I haven't been able to write again and so she said she was flying me out to this party premiere thing to get my mind off of it. She said some people wanted to meet me."

"That sounds oddly vague."

"Yeah." Lucas laughed.

"So uh, are you going to try to find Brooke?" Nathan asked in a pseudo innocent tone.

"Uh, I don't think so. I mean I guess not. She left right? Her life is there, what am I gonna do about that?" Lucas said

"Well if you tell her how you feel it'll make you feel better."

"No it won't. Because I'll tell her, then I'll have to go back home the next day and I probably won't see her for another four years."

"You don't know that man."

"You see something else happening?"

"Maybe" Nathan said, trying to get his brother to see something in a good light for once.

Nathan dropped Lucas off at the airport, hugged him goodbye and drove off leaving Lucas to think about Brooke for the rest of his flight.

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Though Lucas was very successful with his first book, he opted to go to as few events as possible. He decided he'd make an exception for this one because it was a benefit. Still, he didn't want to go, but he knew he should. When he arrived at this one he was a bit clueless, so he was given instructions for what to do from his editor.

'When you arrive, wait a few second while they take your picture. Walk down the red carpet, I'll be at the end waiting for you. On your way, don't stop for any press unless they know who you are. If they do know, try not to say anything stupid to them. Meet me in the back and I'll introduce you to some people.–Amy'

Lucas folded up the note and put it in his back pocket as he got out of the car that drove him. Lucas walked down the red carpet; no one stopped him, which pleased him. But about two thirds of the way down the walk he noticed a familiar face with a bunch of reporters in front of her, and he moved closer to see what she was saying.

Brooke Davis was on the red carpet that day, and everyone wanted to talk to her. So she put on her smile and went to all the interviews that Sheryl told her to go to. Now at her third one of the night, Brooke was disappointed with what she was being asked, but she didn't show it. Until one question surprised her.

"So we missed you last weekend." one reporter said. "We heard you went home."

"Uh, yeah." Brooke said, surprised that they knew where she was.

"Why'd you go?"

"Uh, it was a personal matter" Brooke said, not wanted to be too specific.

"So we've never heard you talk about your home town. Can you tell us why you wanted to go back?" the reporter pried even more.

"Tree Hill's my home. It was great to go back and just be me. Being in my one true home, being with my closest friends, and being…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

"The girl behind the red door?" a soothing voice from behind her said.

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"Lucas?" Brooke said in shock as she turned around.

"Hey Pretty Girl" Lucas said calmly, realizing what the words he just said meant to them.

Brooke just started at him. To her, he looked perfect in that moment. She looked perfect to him too.

"Wha-uh, what are you doing here?" she could barely form the words

"Turns out some people actually want to meet me."

"That's great."

"Thanks. So uh, you look.." he was starting to fumble with his words as he started into Brooke's eyes.

"Yeah, you too." he said.

"So Brooke, who is this guy?" one of the reporters asked. Brooke and Lucas didn't realize that they were still in front of everyone, and that they were all watching them.

"Right, sorry guys, this is Lucas Scott, he's a writer, and one of my closest friends." Brooke said

"Yeah man, you wrote An Unkindness of Ravens. It was great." one of the reporters said.

"Thanks" Lucas said, tentatively around the reporters.

"Wait," another reporter cut in. "Does that mean you're the Brooke Davis, from the book?"

"Yeah," Brooke said, realizing that the past she has been trying to run from has finally caught up with her. "So how is everything?" Brooke asked, turning to Lucas again.

"You know, complicated….turns out that something went missing again."

"I know the feeling….and everyone else?"

"Good."

Just as Lucas was about to ask Brooke something, someone tapped on his shoulder. Lucas turned around to see his Editor Amy standing behind him.

"Hey Amy"

"Hi, so what's going on here?" she asked.

"I just ran into Brooke" Lucas said

Amy noticed the way that Lucas was looking at Brooke and raised her eyebrows at it. "There are some people I would like you to meet now."

"I guess that's my que," Lucas said as he began to walk away. He then stopped, and turned to Brooke. "Bye pretty girl" he said, with more confidence this time. He turned and walked away.

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A little over an hour later Lucas found himself wandering outside the ballroom where the benefit was being held.

"What are you doing out here?" Brooke asked. She was sitting in a on a chair in the corner of the now empty room.

"I just realized why I haven't been coming to these for the past few years." Lucas said, surprised to see her there.

"I know what you mean," Brooke said.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.

"I'm surprised I made it this far into the night. I was planning on skipping out early, but when I got out here I didn't know what to next…so here I am now."

"Here you are now." Lucas said as he smiled at her. She smiled back. "You wanna get out of here?" he asked.

Brooke thought about it for a second. "Sure" she said. She gathered herself and looked up at Lucas, who now had his hand out, waiting for her. With that Brooke had a flash back; the night of the Tree Hill High formal. Brooke and Lucas were on the beach together when Lucas stood up, put his hand out and offered her a ride home.

(Present time) Brooke smiled as she reached for his hand, and they walked out of the room hand in hand. Once outside a flood of photographers started taking pictures of them.

"Oh wow" Lucas said, not expecting this. Brooke was used to it.

"I have a car waiting for me at the other end. You think we can make it that far?" Brooke asked as she held his hand a little tighter.

Lucas smiled, "I think we can make it."

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In the car on the way to Brooke's they were silent, not knowing what to do next. Lucas was watching Brooke as she gazed out the window.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"I miss Tree Hill," Brooke said quietly, then turned to Lucas. "I mean, I have a great life here, but I'm just- just a little tired. I miss my friends, you know?"

Lucas nodded.

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Lucas walked Brooke to her door.

"So I guess this is it," Brooke said quietly

"I guess so," Lucas said with a pit in the bottom of his stomach.

Hearing Lucas, Brooke began to tear up. She kissed him softly on the cheek and went into her apartment. Once inside she leaned up against the door, closed her eyes, and felt a tear run down her cheek. She turned around and looked through the peep hole in her door to see Lucas standing there too. She watched him. Lucas took a step back for a second and then went to knock on the door, but stopped right before he did. He backed up and began to practice saying something, he tried different ways and different things to say, but none seemed to fit. After a minute that felt like hours, he finally took a deep breath and knocked on the door again. Brooke opened it immediately. He could see that she was crying. He stood there, suddenly with no words to express what he was feeling. Instead of speaking, he quickly leaned in and kissed her passionately, pushing her back into the apartment as he closed the door behind them.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Lucas woke up at 8:30, still in bed with Brooke. After watching her for a while he got up and began to walk around her apartment. He made his way into her office. He looked around, and then spotted something familiar. He walked to the far corner of the room and looked at one of the shelves. On it was as box, and two books. He took them out to see his book, and The Winter of our Discontent, the same copy that Lucas gave to Brooke in junior year to read. He closed his eyes and remember their deal; she reads the book, and he'll do something fun that she wants to do. He opened his eyes and smiled. He looked around to see if Brooke was there, she wasn't so he carefully opened the box, knowing he shouldn't, but he was painfully curious to see what was in it. As he opened the box to look inside he found contents similar to the one in his room. He found many pictures of him and Brooke. Then he found the letters he wrote her. Remembering everything that happened back in high school, Lucas quietly put the box back and made his way back into Brooke's room.

Lucas lay back down in bed and watched Brooke sleep. A few minutes later, at 9 o'clock, the radio came on waking Brooke. She groaned, and rolled over to reach remote to turn off the music. She rolled back over and began to open her eyes, to see Lucas laying next to her, watching her.

"Hi" she said quietly

"Hi"

Brooke closed her eyes again and remembered what happened the night before.

_Lucas and Brooke were kissing, making their way back into Brooke's bedroom. Once they got there, Brooke pulled away. _

_"Lucas wait, we can't do this." _

_"Why not?" _

_"Because we ju-" _

_"I love you Brooke." _

_Brooke stood their stunned. _

_"I love you Brooke" Lucas said again, this time smiling. _

_"I- I love you too" Brooke said before she began to kiss him again. She started to unbutton his shirt as they fell backwards onto the bed. _

"Last night was uh" Brooke started to say.

"Pretty amazing"

"Yeah" she said. "What does this mean?"

"I don't know" Lucas said, surprised by the question.

"You don't know?" she asked, almost in disbelief, but then realized that she didn't know either.

"What I know," Lucas said. "is that I have to catch a plane back to Tree Hill in less than 3 hours. I know that I meant what I said last night…I'm in love with you Brooke. I know that every time I see you something inside me feel complete, like everything is going to be okay. And I know that I, that I want to be with you Brooke, I've wanted to for the longest time now."

"That's a lot of stuff that you know," Brooke said, a little overwhelmed.

"Brooke?"

"Yeah?"

"Come with me back to Tree Hill, come back home." Lucas said, not wanting to lose Brooke again, but afraid of what the answer might be.

"Luke-" Brooke said, being interrupted by her phone ringing. "I can't"

"Why not? You said it yourself last night, you miss it."

"Bu-"

"Do you love me Brooke?"

"…yeah, I do."

"Then what's the problem?"

Brooke's phone had started to ring again, this time it seemed much louder. She picked it up. "Because I just can't. My life is here." she said before wrapping the sheets around her, getting up, and answering her phone.

Lucas had a look of heartbreak on his face. He got up, and finished getting dressed just as Brooke hung up the phone.

"Where are you going?" Brooke asked as if she didn't already know.

"I love you Brooke, but if I stay here any longer it'll be too hard to leave. You said your life is here. Well mine is in Tree Hill, so I need to catch my flight home."

"Bu-"

"I love you pretty girl" he said one last time before kissing her softly on the lips. It short and simple, but it was a kiss that was mixed with their love and their heartbreak. Lucas left her apartment with a pained look on his face. It only took seconds for the tears to start streaming down Brooke's face.

"What did I do?" Brooke said to herself in between sobs as she realized she now lost the guy she loves, again.

Lucas made his way downstairs where plenty of photographers were waiting for him. He quickly hailed a cab back down to his hotel, grabbed his stuff and hailed another to go to the airport. As he sat on the plane all he could think about was Brooke. And just as the plane was leaving the ground, tears formed in Lucas' eyes because he knew he was leaving her once again.

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When Lucas landed in North Carolina, his eyes were still a little red from crying, but he didn't care. He didn't care much about anything then…except Brooke. He grabbed his bag and made his way out to the parking lot where he spotted his mom.

"Hey Luke" Karen said.

"Hey mom"

"Oh god, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired." he hated lying to his mom. "Thanks for picking me up"

"Anytime."

They got into her car and made their way back to his house where she dropped him off. When he got inside he just dropped his bag and made his way into his bedroom. He took out his phone and called Haley, knowing he would get her voicemail.

"Hey Hales, its me. Uh, I'm back. My mom picked me up. I'm just gonna lay low for the next couple of days. So I guess I'll call you soon…bye." he hung up. He looked over at the clock. It read 4:30. He couldn't believe that it's been seven and a half hours. He closed his eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Five hours later he woke up to a knock on his door. His eyes began to flutter open and he slowly got up and walked to the door. He opened the door and couldn't believe who was standing in front of him.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hi" Brooke said softly

"Hi". Lucas was stunned to see her.

"So I was thinking…what if my life were here now?" she said, her heart pounding as she waited for Lucas to respond.

Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. It took him a second to realize what was going on, but when he knew, he looked into her eyes and smiled. He stepped to her and kissed her. He kissed her as if it was the last time he would ever kiss her. And when he pulled away all he could do was smile, so he wrapped his arms around her and held her. The girl he loves came home to him.

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The next day, at around ten in the morning, (Monday) Brooke and Lucas were still in bed. They were facing each other, not talking, just smiling at each other. Then Brooke's phone started ringing, and ringing, and ringing.

"That can't be good" Brooke said.

"Probably not." Lucas said. "But I'll make you I deal."

"I'm listening"

"I'll turn off my phone if you turn off yours."

"Okay, but your phone isn't ringing." Brooke said.

"But it could"

Brooke paused. "Good point"

They both reached across the bed and turned off their phones, not knowing why anyone was calling them.

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An hour later Haley was walking into her English class for seniors. She laid out her books and lesson plans and looked up to the class, ready to get started. The only problem was that over half the girls in the class were huddled around one desk, clearly obsessing over something.

"Girls what's going on?" Haley asked.

"Sorry Mrs. Scott, but you have too see this!" one of the girls said while she motioned for Haley to come over.

"Okayy, what's going on?"

"So," one of the girls began to explain. "Today all of the new magazines came out. You know, Us Weekly, People, all that stuff. Because we're seniors we don't really have many classes, so we all went to get them once they hit the stands. Anyway, to get to the point, on the cover of basically everyone today was this huge story about two people who used to go to Tree Hill. How cool is that!"

"What!" Haley screamed knowing exactly who it was. "Can I see?"

"I know its cool right?"

"Cool doesn't even begin to describe it" Haley said, realizing that the class had no idea why she was so interested in it. Haley grabbed one of the magazines and saw Brooke and Lucas on the cover. "Oh my god."

Haley ran to her desk and grabbed her phone, calling Lucas. But his phone was off. So was Brooke's. "Oh my god." she said.

"What's wrong Mrs. Scott?" one of the students asked.

"Uh, see, umm. Well they both happen to be my two best friends. And they both happen to be hopelessly in love with each other."

"What!? Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Looks like I'm gonna be paying Luke a visit during lunch today." Haley said, still shocked at what she saw. "Okay, let's uh, let's start class."

"Wait, can you tell us anything else about them?" one girl asked.

"Um, not now, but some other time. Now, back to class"

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Another hour later, Brooke and Lucas had fallen back to sleep when Haley started banging on the door.

"What was that!" Brooke said as she quickly woke up.

"Someone's at the door." Lucas said "And clearly pissed off. I'll be right back."

Lucas opened the door, surprised to see Haley.

"What happened in New York!?" Haley shot the question at Lucas.

'Uh well, I- ah." Lucas mumbled as he didn't know what to say.

"Hello? What happened?" Haley asked again.

"Lucas? What's going on?" Brooke called as she came downstairs in Lucas' sweatshirt.

"Oh wow." Haley said. "Hey Brooke."

"Oh, uh-" Brooke started to mumble too.

"Never mind, I think I can guess what happened." Haley said

"I doubt that." Lucas cut in. "So what were you talking about?"

Haley handed them the magazines.

Brooke took one look at them and had to sit down. "Oh god" she whispered to herself. "I think I can guess why my phone was ringing so much this morning." Brooke said looking at Lucas.

"Right. Maybe we should turn those back on."

"You turned your phones off!" Haley screamed.

"Yeah…relax, please," Lucas said.

"Oh my god, she's gonna kill me," Brooke was still sitting down, trying to comprehend what exactly had happened.

"Okay, I'm gonna let you deal with that. I'll see you guys later I guess." Haley said as she left the house.

"Brooke, are you okay?"

"Um, I'll be okay. But I think its time I go check my messages." Brooke walked back upstairs.

Two minutes later she ran back downstairs with a horrified look on here face.

"Whoa. what happened?"

"We have a major problem…Sheryl's on her way down here."

"You mean like right now?"

"Right now." Brooke said, with a look on her face that said she was terrified of what was going to happen next. "Her flight left 20 minutes ago."

"Huh." Lucas said, not knowing what else to say….."Well let's not think about it. We have about four hours until she actually gets to Tree Hill, so that gives us plenty of time to walk into town and just hang around…if you want I mean."

Brooke waited before answering, "Yeah, I'd like that."

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At Tree Hill High, during lunch, Nathan and Haley are sitting eating lunch together.

"Wait, so she was just…there?" Nathan asked?

"Yeah, obviously since last night." Haley said

"Did they explain?"

"No, I left pretty quickly, but I'm sure we'll find out what happened soon enough"

"I hope so; this is gonna be one hell of a story."

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After heading to the Rivercourt and to see Brooke's old house, Brooke and Lucas made their way into town.

They were walking down the street towards Karen's Café.

"Hey, you wanna go see my mom?" Lucas asked.

Brooke didn't respond.

"Okaaay."

"I'm sorry Luke, I mean I do, its just that this all happened so fast, I mean us then me coming down here, in fact I don't even know what I'm going to do down here a—" Brooke was cut off by Lucas.

"Live with me."

"What?"

"Move in, with me." Lucas said slowly. "Look I know, you're right, it's fast, really fast. But it feels right…right?"

Brooke was quiet, she just nodded her head.

"Good" he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Wait," Brooke said pulling away. "This means I'm moving in with you right?"

Lucas laughed, "Yeah, yeah it does….so! I need to go talk to my mom, how about I explain everything and then you can come in, sound good?"

"Sounds good." Brooke said, more comfortable than ever.

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Lucas went inside the café and started talking to him mom. Brooke was waiting outside checking her e-mails. When she finished she looked around. She looked at the town that she used to know so well, one that she can finally get to know again. As she looked across the street she saw another familiar face, but this one was too familiar. She did a double take, in the same way Lucas did, and ran across the street to catch Peyton coming out of the Thud offices.

"So, when's she going to come out of hiding?" Karen asked Lucas after he explained everything that's happened.

"She's right outside" Lucas said as they got up and walked to the door, only to see Brooke running across the street.

"Looks like she's leaving you already," Karen joked.

"Okay, not funny….is that…Peyton?"

"Peyton!" Brooke called as she down the street after Peyton.

Peyton turned around, shocked to see Brooke back in Tree Hill too. "Brooke?"

"Hey P. Sawyer!" Brooke said as she slowed down and hugged Peyton, not before hesitating of course. "I can't believe your back! What happened to California?"

"It just didn't work out."

"Oh, I'm sorry. How long have you been back for?"

"A couple weeks. What about you?"

"Um, about 15 hours." Brooke said. Peyton gave her a puzzled look.

"Why?...did you come back I mean"

Brooke didn't know how to respond, instead she glanced towards Lucas who was stepping out of the Café.

"Oh," Peyton said, "Congrats."

"Yeah, it happened really…fast." Brooke said remembering her conversation with Lucas a few minutes earlier. For a moment they just stood there in silence. "I'm sorry Peyton"

"Please, don't be. We just didn't work. Look uh, I should go. But I'm happy for you, I really am."

"Thanks Peyton. Wait, before you go, where are you staying?"

"I moved back home."

"Can I see you sometime soon? I know it is been a while, but I'd really like to catch up with you again."

"Yeah, I'd like that too. Just come find me I guess." Peyton said as she walked away.

Lucas walked up behind Brooke.

"Everything okay?" Lucas asked

"I think so. She's really quiet now."

Lucas laughed a little, recalling what he said to Haley. "Yeah I guess so."

They stood there holding hands in silence for a minute, before Brooke's phone started ringing again.

"This," she said motioning towards her phone, "is becoming an unfortunate trend." Brooke answered her phone. "Hi….no I'm in town…lucky me….wait, pull over…hold on." Brooke said as she hung up, grabbed Lucas' hand and headed down the street to a black SUV. Once they got there she knocked on the window. The person inside rolled it down.

"Hi," Brooke said cheerily. "Welcome to Tree Hill"

"Get your ass in the car," the woman inside, Sheryl, said. "We're going back to New York and dealing with the mess you made."

"First of all, everything is true; second of all, you can go back to New York alone, I'm staying in Tree Hill…for good." Brooke said with confidence in her voice.

"Like hell you are!" she yelled as she got out of the car and made her way to Brooke.

"Maybe I should go. I'll be at the café." Lucas said to Brooke

"No," Brooke said as she held his hand tighter. "Please stay with me…I need you too. Sheryl, maybe we should go and sit down, maybe have some coffee."  
"You're kidding right? You move to the middle of North Carolina overnight and you just want to talk about it!"

"Let's make that decaf." Brooke said, trying to lighten the mood but being serious.

An hour later Brooke had finally convinced Sheryl to go to a hotel so that she could calm down. After Sheryl left, Brooke walked back upstairs to find Lucas in bed on his laptop…writing. She crawled into bed next to him.

"Any chance you could put that off for a bit?" she asked innocently.

Lucas stopped and put his laptop to the side. "I'm finally writing again and you pull me away with one question." he said smiling.

Brooke leaned in and kissed him softly. "You know what I was thinking?" she kissed him again.

"Yes, and it's killing me to say that I- we are going to Haley's for dinner."

"Oh…..Well we…still…have…some…time." Brooke said in between kisses as she crawled on top of him.

"Oh I like the way you think!" Lucas said as he flipped Brooke over.


	8. Chapter 8

Two Weeks Later…….

Nathan and Haley are getting much closer. Nathan decided that in order for this to happen, he has to prove that he has changed (again), instead of pretending that everything is back to normal like he originally tried. Brooke and Lucas have been watching Jamie a lot to give Naley alone time, thus giving Brooke a chance to be the godmother she always wanted to be.

Brooke and Haley are closer than ever. Brooke and Peyton have been seeing each other every couple of days, still trying to catch up. They're slowly becoming friends again. Nathan and Lucas are still very close (obviously). They have been spending more time playing basketball in the school gym together (because Nathan is the coach). Lucas has been helping Nathan with his rehab, which is progressing well.

Brooke and Lucas are still living together happily. Since the initial shock, things have calmed down and they have found a sort of routine. Though they never officially told people what happened in New York, but everyone has just accepted that they're now together and happy. They have both been really busy lately. Lucas is writing more, and better, than he has in years. Brooke has been even busier. In two weeks she unveils her new line (making her even more popular among celebrity news), and though she is extremely happy, being in Tree Hill just makes her work harder. During the day they keep to their rooms in the house while working, barely coming up for air.

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Lucas was standing in front of the refrigerator, trying to think of a something good to have for lunch. He felt like he couldn't find anything, so he closed the door with a disappointed look on his face. He turned around to see Brooke walking into the kitchen.

"Hey," he said. "What's up?"  
Brooke didn't respond, she just took a deep breath and looked at Lucas, a look that said she was exhausted.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked concerned.

"I'm fine, just tired."

Lucas looked at her, trying to figure out what was really wrong. Brooke looked at him and immediately realized the expression on his face said that he didn't believe her.

"I'm just not feeling very well, there's a lot going on this doesn't help." she said, being honest. She was completely overwhelmed with work. She leaned against the counter and looked outside, it was a beautiful day. "You know, I think I'm gonna talk a walk. The fresh air might do me some good. Besides, an hour away from work won't kill me right?"

"Yeah. Wait, will you be okay? I mean with the photographers and everything"

Brooke shrugged. "I'm used to it, besides this is much better than the way it was in the city….Okay, I think I'm gonna to the river walk or something, so I guess I'll see you later then." Brooke didn't even grab her cell, she just headed for the door.

"Okay. Wait! One more thing," Lucas called for Brooke to stop. "Any chance I could get you for a few hours tonight?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I have a bit of a surprise for you."  
"What time?" Brooke said, clearly interested and excited.

"7 o'clock, meet me at the Rivercourt." Lucas said, leaving Brooke to attempt to figure out what he was planning.

"See you then." Brooke said as she walked out the door

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Lucas wandered back into his room and to his laptop where he tried to write more. Though he had been writing nonstop, he suddenly found himself distracted. He opened up the top drawer of his desk and began to examine something inside. He pulled out a diamond ring and stared at it, smiled, and put it away, anxious for that night. About 15 minutes later he was still thinking of what he had planned for that night when he was startled by the phone ringing. When he answered he was surprised to hear it was for Brooke. It was one of the set designers for her show next week. Brooke took all of her business calls through her cell, so Lucas had to ask why she was calling this number….Brooke wasn't answering her cell because she didn't have it with her. The call was very important so Lucas decided to go find her. She was at the river walk like she had said.

Brooke was walking down the river walk with about a dozen photographers behind her. It didn't bother her; she had learned the hard way to just ignore them. She tried to enjoy the beautiful day and her break from working when something else began to bother her. Brooke suddenly slowed her pace down, not understanding why she was so light headed. Soon she felt like she couldn't walk anymore, so she stopped and held on to the railing, still unable to figure out why she felt even worse than she did when she left the house.

At the same time that she had stopped walking Lucas parked near where Brooke was. He knew she was there because only Brooke Davis could attract that kind of attention in Tree Hill. As he walked over to her he started to hear people yelling to see if she was okay. Little did he know that Brooke was in pain, and showing it. He started running towards her.

"Brooke!" he called for her as he pushed his way through the paparazzi.

"Lucas!" she yelled for him, as she clutched her stomach in pain. As Lucas reached her he hugged her. She pulled away, put hand to Lucas' face and collapsed in his arms.

Lucas was now on his knees, trying to prop Brooke up as much as possible.

"Brooke! Brooke, wake up. Please wake up." He pleaded with her…she wasn't responding.

Lucas looked around frantically, not knowing what he should do next. The scene around him was crazy, some people were trying to help, and some were just taking pictures. Without even realizing his next moves, Lucas put Brooke's arm around his neck, and picked her up. He needed to take her to his car to take her to the hospital. He held her and carried her away in a scene reminiscent of when he carried an unconscious Peyton out of the school.


	9. Chapter 9

An hour later Lucas, Haley, Nathan, and Peyton were all sitting in the waiting room. No one had told them anything about what was going on. Lucas had been sitting with his head in his hands, silent the whole time.

"Excuse me," a doctor said coming into the room. "Are you all here for Ms. Davis?"

"Yeah," everyone responded, except Lucas.

"Does she have any family here?" the doctor asked.

"No," Peyton responded. "We're the closest thing she's got."

"Is there anyone that I could talk to about her current condition?"

They all signaled to Lucas, who was still staring at the ground.

"Luke?" Nathan said softly, "They want to talk to you about Brooke, you should go, we'll be here when you get back…go Lucas."

Lucas slowly got up and followed the doctor to the end of the room, out of ear shot.

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Two minutes later Lucas slowly walked back to the group. They all waited in silence for him to tell them what was going on.

Lucas struggled to speak. "She uh, see she was really stressed and so she collapsed I guess, and now she's just unconscious. They did a bunch of tests and she's going to be okay…they think….she just has to wake up."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Why is it so extreme? I mean I've heard of collapsing, but nothing this bad, wh-" Haley was cut off by Lucas.

"There were complications…..with the pregnancy. Brooke's pregnant." Lucas said, shocked by his own words.

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"What?" everyone said in unison. Lucas didn't respond, he didn't really know how to anymore; Brooke was pregnant and unconscious, and Lucas felt the love of his life slipping away from him…he was helpless to stop it all.

"Look, they said I could go in and stay with her, you guys can come in too, but uh, can I have a minute with her first?"

"Take your time man, we'll be here." Nathan said.

Lucas slowly walked towards Brooke's room. When he got to the door he broke down. Tears began to stream down his face, he couldn't control himself. He fell into a chair that was beside her bed. He held her hand and kissed it, mumbling to her, begging her to wake up.

"I need you Brooke, please, please. You have to wake up, I can't lose you. Please pretty girl, please come back to me." he said as he laid his head down, still holding her hand. He closed his eyes and tried to convince himself that this was a dream; that it wasn't happening. But it was, he opened his eyes again and realized that he couldn't escape this, Brooke was really there in that bed.

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Out in the waiting room, Peyton, Haley, and Nathan were sitting in silence for a few minutes before Peyton broke it.

"I think we should stay here with him," she said. "I mean he said they were just waiting for her to wake up, so I think that…that Lucas needs us here, I mean he was a mess."

"Yeah, I'm staying. All we need is for Brooke to wake up" Haley said, trying to convince herself that it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

Nathan sat there shaking his head. "I can't believe this is happening today." was all he kept saying.

"As opposed to tomorrow? Would that have been better?" Haley said sarcastically. She and Peyton stared at him, waiting for him to explain his comment.

He hesitated but then continued. "Guys, uh, Lucas was going to propose to Brooke tonight."

"Oh my god," Peyton and Haley said together.

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It was now 5 o'clock. Lucas was sleeping in the chair next to Brooke. Nathan, Haley, and Peyton were standing in the doorway watching them for a minute before they left for the waiting room again.

"There's gotta be something that we can do right? I mean we can't just sit here," Peyton said, growing impatient and scared for her friend.

"I don't think there's anything," Haley said quietly.

"I can't stay here and do nothing," Peyton said. "I'm going to their house, I'll get some stuff for them, and then I'll be back."

"Okay" Haley and Nathan said. They were soon alone in the waiting room. Nathan took Haley's hand and held it tight.

"It's gonna be okay," he said, unsure if it was true but still trying to comfort Haley.

"I hope so."

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Peyton walked outside to see that there were even more photographers waiting there for news on Brooke. She quickly walked by them and to her car. Once she got to their house she used the spare key to get in. She took Lucas' laptop, and Brooke's blackberry. It was all that she could think of to bring them. She didn't know what they needed. What Lucas needed…Brooke was still unconscious.

When Peyton got back to the hospital Lucas was awake. She gave him the stuff and retired back to the waiting room with Nathan and Haley. Lucas sat in the room with Brooke. The laptop was off to the side, he had Brooke's blackberry. He saw she had 15 messages from Sheryl and others. He sighed and wrote an e-mail to her.

"Brooke's still unconscious. I'll let you know if there are any changes, and I'll explain what happened later. I can't talk now. –Lucas"

He sent the e-mail and then began to stare at his laptop. After a few minutes he got up and got his laptop. He brought it back to his chair and opened it up. He thought he would try to write a little, maybe it will make the time go faster. So he began to write, he wrote about what was going on right now, about the pain in the possibility of losing some one you love. About that in the face of everything that is going wrong, of everything that has hurt you…you still have to have hope as hard as that may be.

Two hours later Lucas was still writing, and Brooke still hadn't woken up. Lucas looked at the clock and realized that it was 7. He should have been meeting Brooke at the Rivercourt. He had planned a romantic night where he would finally ask her to marry him. _So much for that_ he thought. He wandered into the waiting room where Nathan, Haley, and Peyton were. He sat down with them. No one said a word. Lucas soon focused his attention at the TV. E! News was on. Brooke watched that everyday. She always recorded it. Lucas could never figure out why, but she did. As he watched he found himself missing Brooke even more. He knew he should be with her now, but he couldn't just watch her sleep anymore, it was too hard if he didn't know she was okay. Lucas just continued to watch TV. A few minutes later he suddenly became outraged because of what he was watching…Brooke. Brooke was on TV, her "story" was on TV. Pictures from the riverwalk and video from outside the hospital were playing. With out realizing his actions Lucas got up and made his way for the door; for the reporters waiting outside. Nathan, realizing what he was about to do, tried to run after Lucas.

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Nathan finally caught up with Lucas as they walked outside the hospital. Lucas was livid, and he was staring at the reporters in front of him.

"Don't do this man," Nathan said, coming up behind him, slightly limping.

Lucas didn't respond. He didn't know what he was going to do next.

"Luke," Nathan said as he put his hand on Lucas' shoulder, trying to pull him back. "Luke, you know this isn't what you want to do. If it was you would have done it already."

Lucas turned to Nathan with tears in his eyes.

"I know," Nathan said, quieting his voice. "Brooke wouldn't want you out here, yelling at them just because your angry at what they're doing."

"What am I supposed to do?" Lucas asked. "She's just in there. Lying there and I can't do anything about it!"

"You can be with her."

"I have been. Bu- but I jus…." Lucas trailed off.

"Look at me Lucas," Nathan said as he took Lucas' shoulders and faced him. "You remember when Haley was here? After the state championship game?" Nathan was waiting for some kind of response, but he didn't get one. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that I know how you feel, okay? I know where you are. She's going to be okay, you just have to believe that. You have to go be with her now, that's what she needs." Nathan was now pleading with Lucas to go back inside. Lucas still wouldn't say anything. "Fine.." Nathan backed away for second, then he turned around and walked back to Lucas. "You know she's would do it for you…she did do it for you." Nathan said, finally grabbing Lucas' attention. "What you don't remember? Let's see if I can jog your memory. We were 16. Car accident. You were out for much longer than this, and you know what? Brooke was there for you. She was with you every second possible. And now you have to be with her….go Lucas, just go and be with her, she needs you now."

Lucas finally looked Nathan in the eye. Without saying anything Lucas nodded his head, slowly turned around and began to walk back into the hospital. Once he was gone Nathan sighed. He leaned against the wall and rubbed his knee in pain; it was the first time he had run in months.


	10. Chapter 10

A few minutes later Lucas was walking back into Brooke's room. He still couldn't bare to look at her in such a helpless position. He walked over to her and gently kissed her on the head, then he made his way back to his laptop. As he opened his laptop he stared at the blinking cursor. Though he had written earlier, he now felt as if no words could describe what he was going through. There were no words that he had ever read before or words that he had written to explain what he was feeling. Words to explain how much he loved Brooke and the way it pained him to see her in this state, and no words to describe his fear that Brooke wasn't going to be okay. He just felt himself staring ahead.

"Hey," a weak voice from behind him said. Lucas quickly turned around to see Brooke with her eyes open, watching him.

"Brooke," Lucas whispered as he went to her and held her tight. Lucas closed his eyes and embraced Brooke, knowing that she was safe again. Once he released her, all he could do was smile.

"Water," Brooke said quietly. Lucas got her a cup of water and slowly lifted it to her lips. When she was finished Lucas put the cup down and sat in the chair next to her bed.

"What happened?" Brooke asked.

"You collapsed at the river walk."

"I kinda remember that, I mean what happened to me?"

Lucas took a deep breath, "Well you've been unconscious for about 6 hours," Lucas said, realizing how long he's been there. "and that's because of the stress combined with uh, with the pregnancy." Lucas was hesitant with the last part.

"I'm pregnant?" Brooke asked.

"What?" Lucas said astonished. "I thought you knew."

"I knew I was late...I was going to take a test tonight."

"Oh" was all Lucas managed to say.

"Are you okay with this?" Brooke asked.

Lucas was silent for a moment, then he smiled. "Yeah, I'm more than okay with this," he said and then he kissed Brooke softly on the lips. "I should go get the doctor." He said as he stood and began to walk to the door.

"Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"What were we supposed to do tonight?" Brooke asked, not knowing that Lucas had planned on proposing.

"Nothing that can't wait a few days. Nothing's more important than the fact that you're okay now." Lucas said.

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Lucas walked out into the hallway and then into the waiting room where he saw Nathan, Haley, and Peyton still waiting.

"She's awake" Lucas said softly. Everyone jumped up.

"Can we go see her?" Haley asked.

Lucas nodded his head. "I'm going to find her doctor, I'll be back in a minute."

Lucas made his way to the desk and told a nurse what had happened. A minute later he and the doctor were walking into Brooke's room.

"We should probably go," Peyton said.

"Yeah, we have to pick up Jamie and stuff, but we'll see you soon," Haley added.

"Thank you guys so much for staying so long. It means so much to me." Brooke said.

The three of them said goodnight and left Brooke and Lucas alone with the doctor.


	11. Chapter 11

Two days later Lucas was driving Brooke home from the hospital. She had been assigned to bed rest for the next week, something Brooke wasn't handling well. She was also told to stay as calm as possible, no stress; something that was going to be a lot harder than it sounded.

Brooke walked upstairs slowly, laid down in bed, and turned on the TV. She went through her DVR and found the shows she was looking for. Lucas had told her that her story was on them and she was interested to see it for herself. Lucas was downstairs. He checked the messages, some from their friends calling to see how they were, some from his mom, and then there was one from Sheryl. Lucas sighed, grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge and made his way upstairs.

When Lucas came to the door, Brooke quickly turned off the TV, not wanting Lucas to relieve everything that had happened.

"You can watch it," Lucas said

"I don't really know if I want to, I mean its a little embarrassing."

"Right….so uh Sheryl called, I was listening to our messages."

"What'd she want?"

"Well after I explained everything, she wanted to come down here, but I told her it would be better if she didn't. I hope that's okay."

"Thank you," Brooke said smiling, "I don't know if I could handle her right now.

"Yeah, but she plans on calling at noon. She said she needed some statements from you about what happened."

"Great."

"I'm sorry"

"For what?"

"Everything that happened, everything that's going to happen."

"That's sweet, but it's not your fault." Brooke was surprised by his apparent guilt

Lucas smiled at her. Brooke's smile quickly faded. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I'm just tired."

"Anything I can do for you?"

"Just lay here with me." Brooke said quietly. With that Lucas curled up next to Brooke in bed. He was fast asleep, because he had been so worried in the past few days, he hadn't gotten much sleep lately. Brooke watched Lucas sleep for a moment, she then turned on the TV to watch her shows, to watch what happened to herself. After watching the initial collapse, and watching Lucas carry her away, Brooke was in tears, she couldn't watch anymore. She turned off the TV and turned to Lucas. She kissed him gently on the forehead, waking up.

"Hey," he said in a groggy voice. "How long was I out for?"

"Just about a half an hour, I'm sorry I woke you, go back to sleep." Brooke said.

"No, its okay," Lucas said as he sat up in bed next to her. They sat there for a minute, just staring into each other's eyes. Then Lucas got up and walked to his desk.

"Where are you going?" Brooke asked.

"Nowhere…I'm not going anywhere," Lucas said as he reached into his drawer and took out the engagement ring. Brooke moved to the end of the bed to try to see what he was doing. Lucas quickly hid the ring in his hand and turned back to her. He sat down at the end of the bed next to her. Lucas hesitating before speaking, he didn't quite know what to say.

"You I planned to do this differently, I planned to do this the other night," Lucas said.

"Do what?" Brooke said, oblivious to what was going on. Lucas didn't hear her, he could barely hear anything over the sound of his heart pounding.

"I love you Brooke, more than anything in the world. You're the love of my life and I can't imagine being without you." Lucas paused and got down on one knee, though he was sure of what he wanted to do next, he still struggled with the words. "Brooke Davis, will you marry me?"

"Oh Lucas," she said quietly as she looked at the ring he held out for her.

Lucas waited for an answer, sure that his heart was going to stop any second. Brooke looked into his eyes and nodded her head.

"Yes!" she said.

"Yeah?" Lucas was still trying to comprehend her answer.

"Yeah," she said as Lucas slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her passionately. He hugged her tightly, picked her up and spun her around.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Lucas said as he put her down on the bed.  
"What's wrong?" Brooke asked, scared of what had changed so suddenly.

"You're supposed to be on bed rest, not being swung around." Lucas said, remember how he had to take care of Brooke.

Brooke just laughed. "Come here," she said has she pulled up closer by the shirt and kissed him again.


	12. Chapter 12

A month and a half later….

Lucas and Nathan are at the Rivercourt.

"So how's everything going?" Nathan asked as he shot the ball and it went in as usual.

"Ahhh, very busy," Lucas said. "I'm trying to keep Brooke calm, but she keeps saying she's not stressed, she's just excited and busy."

"Very busy," Nathan said. "She and Haley and Peyton are out bride's maid's dress shopping or something. I don't know how you're doing this."

"Well its not me, it all Brooke, she's putting this all together."

"Not that I'm not honored to be your best man, and I totally support you guys, but why the rush? I mean it'll be two months since you proposed in a week….when you get married." Nathan said.

"Brooke said she always wanted a big wedding, but at the same time she doesn't want to wait until the baby is born, and she doesn't want to be showing for the wedding, so I guess this is what she came up with." Lucas tried to explain.

"Its gonna be one hell of a weekend."

"You're right about that," Lucas said with a smile on his face. "So since I've been caught up in this madness I haven't gotten a chance to check in and see how you're doing…so how are you doing Nate?"

"Good, much better. Jamie's great, Haley and I are…" He trailed off, but smiled. "Much better."

"That's great, I'm really happy for you man."

"Thanks, its just uh…" Nathan trailed off again.

"What?" Lucas asked concerned.

"I don't know…" Nathan said, regretting even bringing anything up.

"Nate, what's going on?" Lucas asked concerned.

"I'm just nervous, you know? For the season to start. I mean, its coming up really quickly. Before, it was just me sitting in an office and teaching a few gym classes, but now, I don't know if I can be a coach Luke."

"Nathan, you're going to be great."

"No, I'm not. I may be able to sink a jump shot and make a few plays, but I can't mentor a kid or teach them a lesson. I'm not like Whitey or you."

"Yes you can, you just don't know it yet."

"What I know is that I screwed up my high school basketball years."

"What are you talking about?! We won the state championship!" Lucas raised his voice for a moment.

"Lucas, I took drugs to improve my game in junior year, I fought with my co-captain, and not to mention the whole Dante bit."

Lucas didn't know what to say to that because, well because Nathan was right.

"See! I can't do this."

"Yes you can," Lucas said, he voice much lower now.

"I can't do this."

Though Nathan had a point, Lucas couldn't figure out why he was still freaking out. He thought for a moment before speaking again. "What if I helped you?"

"Huh?"

"What if I helped you coach?" Lucas said, slower this time.

* * *

At Peyton's house the three girls are talking about the wedding and other stuff.

"So why do we have to do this here?" Haley asked.

"I don't want Lucas seeing any of my outfits, and I don't know, I just want everything to be perfect, a surprise and just…prefect." Brooke said, closing her eyes and imagining her wedding.

"Wow, someone's in their own little world." Haley said.

Brooke shook her head and herself out of the trance she was in. "Sorry….so P. Sawyer, what's up with you? You've been unusually quiet today."

"Yeah, sorry, just some stuff going on." Peyton said, not wanting to go into the details.

Brooke and Haley gave each other a look. "Spill!" they said together.

Peyton hesitated before starting. "I got a letter today….from Jake."

"What!?" Brooke and Haley said instantly.

"What did he say?" Brooke asked, calming her voice.

Peyton spoke softly and slowly. "He wanted to tell me that he was getting full custody of Jenny, he didn't give me the details, but he said it would be official in two days."

"And?" Haley asked, expecting more.

"That's it." Peyton said in a disappointed tone.

"Oh my god!" Brooke suddenly yelled.

"What?" Peyton said, not interested.

"You totally have to go see him! Like right now!"

"What are you talking about?" Peyton asked.

"You need to go to Savannah and see him! You said two days right? Go see him when he gets Jenny back!" Brooke was practically screaming as she started speaking faster. "I'm serious Peyton, you need to go and see him, even if its just for like a day, you should really go."

"You're crazy Brooke."

"She's got a point," Haley said, surprising everything that she agreed. "You should go and see him."

With that Brooke jumped up off the bed and ran to the closet to get a bag for Peyton. "Let's go! Start packing!"

"Brooke please calm down, your going to hurt yourself."

Brooke's expression quickly changed as she remembered she wasn't supposed to be "going crazy" as everyone around her had put it. "Fine," she finally said. "But you're still going."


	13. Chapter 13

A week later Brooke woke up early on her wedding morning. She quickly got up, jumping up, excited that it was her wedding day. Suddenly her excitement faded and was replaced by nausea. A few minutes after rushing into the bathroom she emerged, feeling much better. Haley and Peyton walked into the bedroom as Brooke walked out.

"Hey guys," Brooke said, clearly still recovering from her bout of morning sickness.

"Hey bride girl," Haley said, mocking Brooke's nick names.

Peyton walked over to the bed and picked up an envelope that was laying on Lucas' pillow. "Looks like Lucas left you a letter," Peyton said as she handed it to Brooke.

At first Brooke seemed her usual cheery self, but when she took the envelope in her hands she began to look nervous. "Oh god, what if he left? I mean what if he got scared and just left!" Brooke was beginning to freak out.

"Would you relax please? He's with Nathan and Jamie at my house."

"Oh…" Brooke said, and then became really cheery again. "So!..."

"Hormones," Peyton and Haley said at the same time as they looked at each other. Brooke shot them a glare.

"We're gonna go get some coffee downstairs, why don't you read that letter." Haley said as she and Peyton left the room.

Brooke said down on the bed and opened the handwritten letter.

_"Dear Pretty Girl, _

_ Now that you're awake and reading this, I assume you have realized that it is our wedding day. In a few hours I get to watch you walk down that aisle and marry you. By my count, this is the 11th letter I have written for you. So expect 71 more. We have the rest of our lives together, and I plan on writing every single one for you, the love of my life. And as you get ready today, as we get married today, and as we celebrate today, remember what I said to you at Keith's wedding all those years ago…" Brooke turned the piece of paper over…"''Remembertonight, for it is the beginning of always'. A promise. Like a reward for persisting through life so long alone. A belief in each other and the possibility of love. A decision to ignore, simply rise above the pain of the past. A covenant, which at once binds two souls and yet severs prior ties. A celebration of the chance taken and the challenge that lies ahead. For two will always be stronger than one, like a team braced against the tempest civil world. And love willalways be the guiding force in our lives. For tonight is mere formality. Only an announcement to the world of feelings long held. Promises made long ago. In the sacred spaces of our hearts.' _

_I can't wait to marry you today. _

_Love, _

_Lucas" _

Brooke wiped a tear from her eye as she folded up the letter and put it in the top drawer of her dresser. She walked downstairs to find Peyton and Haley in the kitchen waiting for her.

"Hey,"

"Hey…wait, have you been crying?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, but it's good crying, not bad crying."

"Is everything alright?" Haley asked.

"Everything's perfect. Let's get ready." Brooke said, more than excited for the day ahead.

* * *

At Naley's house…Nathan is making Jamie breakfast, Lucas walks in.

"Where'd you go?" Jamie asked

"Just to the bathroom, with everything happening today I almost forgot to take my meds," Lucas said in a stressed voice, and then he turned to Nathan. "And I'm going to need them today."

"Nervous?" Nathan asked.

"I don't think so, I'm just really excited…I don't know, whatever it is, my heart is pounding out of my chest."

"Uncle Lucas you should relax." Jamie said in between bites of cereal.

"Yeah man, let's go take a walk."

Nathan, Lucas, and Jamie all went out to the Rivercourt. Jamie was playing by himself while Nathan and Lucas sat on the picnic tables and talked.

Nathan shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked.

"I'm just thinking about how fast this is going."

"Its not that fast."

"Its been three months since she first came back to Tree Hill, now she's pregnant and you're getting married! Trust me, I know fast, and this is fast."

"I guess it is pretty crazy….I don't want to sound too cheesy, but I'm just really excited to start my life with her you know?"

Nathan paused for a second. "Dude! This whole thing is cheesy!"

They laughed and got up to play with Jamie.

* * *

Now at the church, the three girls are getting ready together.

"Okay! Somebody needs to distract me!" Brooke said, clearly getting nervous.

"Uhhh," Peyton didn't know what to say.

"So when are we going to meet your mystery date Peyton?" Haley asked.

"Ooh good one tutor girl!" Brooke said.

"Oh, uh, I don't even know if he's going to show," Peyton said, a little uncomfortable with the subject.

"Why who is it?"

"…….Its Jake," Peyton said in a deadpan way. "But I don't even know if he's going to make it," she continued trying to take the pressure of what she had just said.

"Oh my god! That's why you haven't been talking about your trip to Savannah!!!" Brooke was practically squealing now.

"Yeah…its just, can we not talk about it?"

"Fine," Haley said disappointedly, "But you're going to have to tell us sooner or later."

"Yeah, sooner rather than later," Brooke pushed Peyton.

The girls didn't know what to say after that, so they all just kept on getting ready.

* * *

In another room somewhere in the Church the guys were getting ready. Nathan was helping Jamie change into his tux. Nathan and Lucas were already dressed. Lucas was pacing silently, anxious to get started; praying that everything would be perfect and nothing would go wrong like something always does with an event in this town.

Lucas kept looking at his watch.

"What's wrong Luke?" Nathan asked as he fixed Jamie's bow tie for what seemed like the 10th time.

"Just waiting for some one."

"Whoooo?" Jamie asked innocently.

"Just an old friend J,"

Nathan gave him a questioning look. Lucas was about to speak when someone knocked on the door and then entered the room.

"Jake?" Nathan asked, surprised to see him after all these years.

"You made it!" Lucas said relieved. He went over and shook hands with Jake, as did Nathan and then Jamie.

"So where's Jenny?" Lucas asked.

"Your mom saw me outside and offered to take care of her during the ceremony." Jake said.

"Wait, what's going on?" Nathan asked, still confused.

"Right, sorry. I called Jake about a week and a half ago, he's the mystery groomsman you've been asking about."

"Ohhhhh."

They all laughed.

"So when are we starting?" Jake asked.

"Not soon enough," Lucas replied. "Mouth and Skills are already out there talking to some people, they told us they'd come back and get us when everything's ready." He added as his heart beat faster by the second, all he wanted to do was go out there and finally marry Brooke Davis.

* * *

The three girls and the wedding coordinator were standing behind the large wooden doors into the church. They were waiting to get started.

"Okay, let's go over the list again," Brooke said, clearly nervous.

" Oka-," the wedding planner began when Peyton cut her off.

"No, everything is fine, it was the last time we checked, and it was the time before. Brooke, you need to calm down," Peyton said seriously as she stared Brooke down.

Brooke took a deep breath. "Yeah, calm down."

Haley walked over to a small window to look inside.

"How's it look?" Brooke asked anxiously.

"Amazing, the guys are walking out now actually….What!?!" Haley suddenly said/

"What?" Brooke and Peyton asked quickly and nervously.

"Jake's there," Haley said.

"He is?" Peyton said, sounded truly happy.

"Yeah, but I mean he's there there," Haley said. Brooke and Peyton didn't understand what she meant so they walked over to tiny window to look.

"Whoa!" they said instantly. "Jake is Lucas' other groomsman?" Peyton said, more surprised than anyone to see him there.

"I guess so," Haley said as she and Peyton backed away. Brooke still stood there.

"Brooke, what's wrong?" Haley asked. Brooke just stood there looking at Lucas. Though he looked nervous, he also looked perfect. After another moment Brooke pulled away.

"How do I look?" She asked.

"Beautiful," everyone answered.

She turned to her wedding planner. "Then let's start now," she said calmly and confidently.

The music began to play….

As the music began to play, Lucas could feel his heart pounding. As the people in attendance rose he looked down the aisle and saw Brooke. She looked…he couldn't even find the words. It was like a dream. Unbelievable, the way she looked, they way he looked into her eyes and she stared back, knowing how happy they would be. As she moved closer he thought his heart was actually going to skip a beat.

As she slowly stepped closer to the altar, as she neared Lucas, Brooke felt as though she was in a haze. She couldn't feel herself moving, yet she was making her way down the aisle and towards Lucas. She still couldn't believe everything was perfect.

Lucas couldn't keep his eyes off Brooke. She was barely able to do the same. Nathan practically had to nudge Lucas when it was time for their vows.

Brooke spoke first.

"Lucas, you've always told me that you were the guy for me. And you are. When I'm around you I know I'm safe, and when I'm with you I'm truly happy. Every day that I spend with you I fall even more in love with you. I will always love you, for the rest of my life." Brooke said with a tear in her eye.

Lucas stared at her, soon realizing it was his time to speak.

Lucas hesitated, as if thinking about what he should say. "For a while now, I had been trying to think of the perfect thing to say to you right now. I soon realized that the words I chose could never live up to what I want to say to you right now. No words can describe how much I love you, and how happy you make me, how happy we will be together." There was more that Lucas wanted to say, but it was too much for right now. He would have to wait, but he quickly realized that there was nothing wrong with waiting; he had the rest of their lives to tell her how he felt.

* * *

Not long after that Lucas and Brooke were married…_Mr. and Mrs. Scott._ Brooke linked her arm in Lucas'.

"Well hello Mrs. Scott," Lucas said playfully.

"Hello husband," she quickly responded.

Brooke and Lucas happily made their way back down the aisle.

They were followed by Nathan and Haley.

"I love you Haley," Nathan said.

Haley was surprised to hear him say those words, to hear him say them in the way he did. "I love you too."

Then Peyton and Jake followed the other two pairs.

"So you couldn't tell me you were coming," Peyton said smiling, just happy that Jake was there with her.

"I'll explain everything later," Jake said.

As everyone began to file out of church and make their way to the reception.

* * *

Brooke and Lucas stood outside the ballroom together, waiting to enter for their first dance. Brooke was trying to peak inside.

"What are you looking for?" Lucas asked as he stared at his new wife.

"My parents," she quietly responded. Neither of them knew if her parents would show up. Brooke hadn't seen them in years. She had never gotten along with them, and didn't expect them to come, but still something deep down wanted them there.

Lucas saw Brooke thinking about them and realized he should get her mind off of them.

"Hey Brooke?" Lucas said, getting Brooke to turn around. He began to tell her something he had been dying to tell her for weeks now.

"Yeah?" She asked innocently.

"There's something I've been meaning to say to you, to tell you."

"What is it?" she asked, now concerned.

"Do you remember the night after Keith's funeral?" Lucas asked. "Do you remember what you said to me?" Brooke knew exactly what he was talking about, but she stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. "You asked me to rescue you, to save you…and I said I would if you promised to rescue me back. Do you remember that?" She nodded her head and Lucas continued. "I- I just wanted you to know that you did. You did save me Brooke. When you came home, when you told me you loved me, when you gave me one more chance…when you came back into my life…that's how you saved me."

Brooke smiled. "You saved me too," she said honestly. "In more ways than one," Brooke said alluding to not only her coming home, but to when Lucas saved her at the river walk. She took his hands in hers and slowly leaned to him and kissed him gently on the lips. When she pulled away she looked deep into his eyes and smiled again. This time it wasn't a flattered smile, but one that showed how happy she was, one that showed how much she was in love with Lucas, and he smiled back because he was so in love with her too.

Through the doors they could hear someone speaking into a microphone.

"And will everyone please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Scott!" the voice said as people began to applaud.

"You ready for our big entrance?" Brooke asked.

Lucas took her hand and held it tightly. "Absolutely," he said as the doors before them opened and they entered the ballroom.

* * *

As Brooke and Lucas began to walk towards the center of the room, the dance floor, Lucas slowed down the pace.

"You alright?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah. But you should know that when you asked me to pick out our first song…well it was a lot harder than I thought it would be." Lucas said. "I had it narrowed down to a few, but then last week I heard this playing on the radio as I was watching you sleep one morning. And, and I knew it was the one, the song for us right now."

Brooke was silent for a moment, surprised by his concern over this. "Well what is it?"

"You'll see," Lucas said as he smiled and led her to the center of the dance floor. As they stood together the song began to play.

Brooke looked at Lucas, "…you're right, it's the song." She said as he pulled them closer and they danced to The Reason by Hoobastank.

Soon their friends and family began to join them on the dance floor.

* * *

Nathan and Haley danced together. They were silent, at that moment they didn't need to speak. They were both thinking the same thing. Without saying anything they knew that dancing together at that moment, they were growing closer than they had been in months. They were happy together.

* * *

Jake and Peyton began to dance.

"So are you ever going to explain how you got here?" Peyton asked.

"Well two days before you came to see me I got a call from Lucas. He said that he was sorry that we hadn't kept in touch, you know, the usual. And then he asked me to be one of his groomsmen, it was sudden, but I thought that it would be my chance to get to see you again, so I said yes."

Peyton didn't say anything, she just laughed.

"What?" He asked, not knowing why it was funny.

"Brooke," Peyton said. "Brooke was the one that convinced me to go see you. She probably ran home and told Lucas what I was going to do, so he probably called you."

"And then you showed up at my house."

"Then I showed up at your house," Peyton said.

"Remind me to thank Brooke later," Jake said as they kept dancing, remembering what happened when Peyton went to see Jake.

Flashback

_Peyton drives up to Jake's house. She gets out of her car and walks over to Jake who is on his porch, playing songs on his guitar. _

_"Hi," Peyton said quietly and nervously. _

_"Hi," Jake said, shocked but happy to see her. _

_"I thought I would come see you," Peyton said, not knowing what else to say. _

_Jake hesitated. "I'm glad you came Peyton," He said as he stood and hugged her tightly. _

Present time

* * *

"What are you thinking about?" Lucas asked Brooke in a soft voice as they were dancing together.

"Your letter," Brooke said. She pulled back to look at Lucas.

Lucas smiled. "Well? Did you like it?" He asked playfully.

"I loved it Luke." she said as she put her head back on his chest and they held each other even closer than before. Brooke and Lucas were surrounded by all of their friends and family on one of the happiest days of their lives.

* * *

After a few songs everyone began to filter to their seats. Mouth, Skillz, Bevin, and even Rachel made their way over to the newly wed couple.

* * *

"I guess there's one more thing to be happy about," Lucas said leaning over to Brooke.

"What are you talking about?" Brooke asked.

Lucas motioned to the couple walking over. They were both carrying drinks, and calling Brooke's name.

"My guess is that they're your parents." Lucas said with a smile on his face.

Brooke and Lucas got up to greet her parents. Brooke, as surprised as she was by her own actions, hugged them.

"So you must be Lucas," He dad said as they shook hands.

"Wait a minute," Brooke cut in. "You guys have never met?"

All three shook their heads. Brooke just laughed to herself. "Typical," she said under her breath.

Brooke's mom hit her dad on the arm. "Can you give them their gift already?" She said. Lucas laughed a bit to himself, realizing where Brooke got her playful hit from.

"Right, right. Of course." Her dad said as he handed Lucas an envelope.

Brooke's mom leaned towards her dad, "I need another drink!" she tried to whisper.

"I guess we'll see you later," her dad said turning to them. Brooke parents walked away just as quickly as they came.

Brooke and Lucas sat back down.

"Wow," Lucas said. "That explains a lot about you,"

She hit him playfully on the arm. "Hey!"

Lucas laughed. "See! I told you."

"Fiiine. So when are you going to show me what's in the envelope?"

"Are you sure you want to see it now?"

"Yes…why? do you know what it is?" she asked curiously

"No, but still, we can do this later."

Brooke thought for a moment. "No, I definitely want to see it now," she said as she grabbed it from his hands. Brooke quickly opened the envelope and scanned the contents.

"Holy shit"

"What?" Lucas quickly cut her off.

Brooke sat back in her seat and handed Lucas the contents of the gift. "One hell of a check," she said blankly.

"Whoa!" Lucas said. "That's ridiculous. I mean talk about generous."

"I mean talk about ignorant."

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked, confused to Brooke's response.

"I mean if they even paid any attention to my life in the past four years they would be able to tell that I don't need the money!"

Lucas didn't know how to respond, so he took a moment before speaking. "…Okay. I understand what you mean," He said slowly. "But your parents love you, and I think this is their way of showing it. This is just their gift, I don't think there's an underlying message besides the fact that they want you to have a…wealthy life, besides even if we don't need it, we can make a...a gift to their future grandchild." Lucas said as he placed a discrete hand on her stomach.

Brooke looked at Lucas and thought for a moment. "God! why are you always right!"

Lucas slid closer to her. "I'm definitely not always right, and when I'm not, you are." He said with a smile on his face.

"Cute," Brooke said sarcastically, then she kissed him softly on the lips.

* * *

Peyton and Jake…

They sat together not saying anything. They were watching Jenny and Jamie talking a few seats over.

"I can't believe how much she's grown," Peyton said, not knowing what else to say.

"Me either," Jake said, watching his daughter. "Every day I look at her and it still amazes me. Not just the fact that she's growing up more everyday, but the fact that she's almost seven….It's completely beyond me," Jake said with a confused smile on his face.

"Yeah," Peyton said, looking at Jake. "It's been a long time."

For a moment they sat in silence again.

"So what are you going to do now?" Peyton asked. Jake didn't know how to answer. "When are you going back?" She asked, bluntly but at the same time nervously.

Jake looked into Peyton's eyes and felt his heart breaking. He didn't know how to respond to that without hurting her. As much as Jake still loved Peyton, he had finally begun to make a life for Jenny and him in Savannah…he didn't know what he wanted to do now. Just as Jake was about to speak, he was interrupted by the clanging sound of a glass.

* * *

Nathan stood before a microphone with a glass of champagne in his hand. He waited for the guests to quiet before he started.

"So unlike my brother Lucas, I'm not very good with words; so I'm going to keep this one short…As many of you probably already know, this has been a long time coming." Nathan said. He took a deep breath (clearly uncomfortable with speaking in front of everyone), and continued more seriously. "Brooke and Lucas have really shown us what it means to fight for the person you love most. You two make each other truly happy, and I know that you will for rest of your Nathan said with a smile on his face as he raised his glass.

He walked away from the mic and over to Brooke and Lucas where he hugged them both. They turned to Haley who was now stepping up to the mic.

"Hi everyone," Haley started. "So I have to honestly say that six years ago I never would have expected these two to get together. As they often call each other, one is cheery and the other is broody. And I think that because they are so different, they manage to bring out the best in each other and they really complete each other. I know that they will be happy together, they will have an amazing family and life together, and I know that because they have proven how much they love each other time and time again. So," Haley said raising her glass, "Here's to Mr. and Mrs. Scott, and the love they have for each other."

Everyone applauded as Haley made her way over to Brooke and Lucas.

"Haley!" Brooke squealed. "That was beautiful. Thank you so much!" Brooke hugged Haley tightly, and then Lucas did too.

"Thank you," Lucas whispered to her.

"Anything for my best friends," she whispered back. "And my new sister-in-law," Haley said as she pulled away and faced Brooke again.

"Oh my god! We're actually sisters now." Brooke squealed again.

Everyone just laughed.

Peyton got up and walked over to Brooke, telling Jake they would finish their conversation later when they wouldn't be interrupted.

"Hey B. _Scott_," Peyton said, emphasizing the Scott part.

"Hey p. Sawyer," Brooke said in her usual bubbly voice.

"Can I talk to you?" Peyton asked quietly.

At that moment Brooke saw her happiness flash before her eyes, expecting something to go horribly wrong. Brooke thought her worst nightmares, all her insecurities about her relationship with Lucas were about to come true. Peyton saw the look in Brooke's eye.

"Relax," Peyton said. "You have nothing to worry about."

Brooke nodded, took a deep breath and followed Peyton into the room where they changed.

"So I wanted to talk to you about the toasts," Peyton said turning around once they walked into the room and shut the door.

"What about them?" Brooke said, relieved that it was not what she was thinking.

"Well…" Peyton found it hard to speak with all of her emotions running through her. "Do you remember when we were little? You used to say that when we were older and found the perfect guy who gave us the perfect weddings, that we would give each other the most amazing toasts?...I'm so sorry Brooke, but I just can't give you one now." Peyton said.

"Wha-" Brooke was confused, but Peyton cut her off.

"It's not because I don't want to, because I do so much, it's just that there is so much that I want to say, so many things and ways to describe how happy I am for you and how proud I am to see my best friend so happy today. I just ca-…I just can't say enough in a toast, and I didn't want to ruin the moment by not saying the right thing…its not that I didn't want to, I—just…" Peyton trialed off, between feeling guilty about the toast, her emotions with Jake, and the general emotions from the wedding, her head was spinning.

Brooke pulled Peyton into a long hug. When they finally released each other they both had tears in their eyes.

"Thank you Peyton, that was better than any toast you could have given." Brooke said sincerely.

Peyton smiled faintly. "I'm sorry," she said again.

"Don't be…I love you Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer," Brooke said, pulling Peyton into another hug.

"I love you too Brooke Penelope Davis Scott," Peyton said, then she pulled away. "As much as I love crying with you on your wedding day, we have a party to get you back to."

Brooke and Peyton walked back to the reception to see Lucas, Jake, Nathan and Haley waiting for them.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked walking up to Brooke.

"…Do you want to dance?" She asked quietly.

Lucas didn't respond, he just smiled and held out his hand for her. They made their way to the center of the dance floor along with their friends and family and began to dance together again. Both Brooke and Lucas felt as though their worlds were complete as they held each other close and swayed to the soft music. Brooke felt safe in Lucas' arms, she knew that everything she ever needed was right there next to her, and he felt the same way.

* * *

The party grew quieter as the guests began to leave. Brooke and Lucas said goodbye to everyone. Lucas had his small family and close friends at the wedding, but Brooke had the people from her life in New York there. Lucas watched Brooke carefully as she talked to those people; she had the same classic Brooke Davis spark, but (with a few exceptions) she was all business. He was amazing at the woman she turned out to be. He couldn't believe that the amazing and competent person that was standing in front of him was his wife, let alone the girl who showed up naked in his back seat 6 years ago.

* * *

Elsewhere….

Nathan and Haley sat at a now empty table. Jamie was asleep in Nathan's lap, and for a while Nathan and Haley were silent as they watched him sleep. Nathan first broke the silence.

"So I talked to Karen," He said quietly, trying not to wake Jamie up. "She said she would take Jamie for the night."

"Okayyyy," Haley said confused. "Why did you ask her to do this?"

Nathan looked up at his wife and smiled. "I have a special night planned Hales, just you and me."

"Really?"

"Really," Nathan said confidently.

* * *

Elsewhere… (again)

Peyton stood at the doorway watching Jake fumble his cell phone in his hands.

"Everything alright?" She asked before walking in.

Jake smiled weakly.

"So do you think we could talk n—" Peyton began to say, but Jake cut her off.

"Peyton…I- I have to go back to Savannah. I just got a really important phone call about…" He trailed off.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain," Peyton said, feeling her heart break as she spoke. "When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Jake said solemly.

* * *

Brooke and Lucas stood in a near empty ballroom, mesmerized that it was all over.

"Some party huh?" Brooke said quietly.

"Oh yeah," Lucas said in a playful manner. He nodded to a man on the stage subtly. The man put on one more song.

"So do I get one last dance with my bride?" Lucas asked.

"I would love to dance," Brooke said. Truthfully, she was exhausted and dancing would hurt, but she knew that dancing with Lucas would make everything feel better.

Brooke and Lucas slowly began to dance to their last song of the night.

Lucas held Brooke tightly, he breathed in her scent and closed his eyes, picturing the life they had ahead of them. He smiled softly. A moment later he pulled away.

"I love you," He simply said.

"I love you too," Brooke said happily, knowing that everything was perfect at that moment.


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning Brooke and Lucas were sleeping in bed. Lucas held Brooke close and their legs were tangled together under the sheets. Brooke woke up suddenly, almost gasping for air, and jumped out of bed, taking the sheet with her and quickly waking Lucas up.

"Wha..?" Lucas barely mumbled, not knowing why Brooke had acted so suddenly. "Are you okay?" he asked more aware and concerned as he scrambled to find some part of the sheets and blankets to stay warm.

Brooke was breathing heavily, she stared at Lucas for a moment, then climbed back into bed.

"What was that about?" Lucas asked, still confused.

"Bad dream." She simply responded.

"Bout what?"

Brooke took a deep breath and answered quietly. "I thought I was back in all of our high school drama."

"Well you definitely are not…you do remember yesterday don't you?" Lucas asked jokingly as he stretched.

"Yeah," Brooke said, remembering the perfect day. Her expression quickly changed to a somber one as she thought of her dream. It was a dream that had plagued her the past few nights, the one where she was back in high school and all the drama between her Lucas and Peyton was in full swing.

Lucas noticed her expression so he gently pulled her down closer to him. He kissed her softly on the lips. "Everything's okay now," he said reassuringly.

"It is, isn't it?...husband," she called him playfully.

"It is…wife," Lucas responded. _Finally_ he thought to himself. Finally his dreams were coming true; he married the love of his life, he had a child on the way, he was almost done with his next book, and he was close with his friends and family. _Nothing could be better than this_ he thought.

"I love you pretty girl," Lucas said quietly, then he kissed her softly but passionately.

"I love you too," Brooke said with a smile on her face. He kissed him again, closed her eyes and remembered the 'activities' from the night before. "So, last night was incredible."

"To say the least." Lucas said with a smile on his face, he too was thinking about the night before. The way they stumbled into their house after their wedding, after carrying Brooke up to their room, which to Brooke's delight was covered in rose petals and had candles everywhere, they spent their first night together as husband and wife. Lucas closed his eyes and pictured the night. He remembered every second, every kiss, every touch, it had all been perfect.

Lucas and Brooke lay back in bed, legs and arms intertwined, they stared deeply into each other's eyes. Suddenly Brooke jumped up again, but this time instead of trying to figure out what was going on, she headed straight for the bathroom. Lucas quickly followed her in. He knelt beside her, stroked her back and held her hair back. When Brooke was finished she stood and rinsed her mouth out for what seemed like 5 minutes. When she finally felt clean again she slid down against the wall and sat in the bathroom with Lucas.

"I…hate…morning sickness," Brooke said weakly and bitterly.

"I'm sorry," Lucas said, not knowing what else to say.

Brooke smiled at him, then something caught her eye and a horrified look came across her face.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked worriedly.

"Oh my god," Brooke managed to say. "Look at the time!"

Lucas turned his head to look through the door into their bedroom. He focused on the digital clock which read 9:32 AM.

"Oh no," Lucas said, quickly getting up. He ran into the bedroom and checked three other clocks, all saying the same time.

"So much for perfect," Brooke said slowly walking into the room. She sat down at the end of the bed. "I knew something was going to go wrong….I really just didn't want it to be this."

Lucas sat down next to her. "I am so sorry," he said slowly.

"It's not your fault," Brooke reassured him.

After a moment of silence Brooke finally spoke. "I can't believed we missed our flight!...so much for the perfect honeymoon." She said with a disappointed look on her face.

"Maybe not," Lucas said, trying to keep Brooke happy. "Let me make a few calls," Lucas said as he stood and walked towards the phone.

* * *

Nathan and Haley also lay in bed together the next morning. Nathan was watching Haley sleep, and as he did he couldn't help but think how lucky he was. After a few minutes Haley started to move, slowly waking up. Nathan kissed her softly on the forehead, causing her eyes to flutter open to see what was going on. As she looked at Nathan next to her she smiled softly.

"Hey," Nathan said in a quiet yet confident voice.

"Hey," Haley responded even quieter.

"So how'd you sleep?"

"Well," Haley said softly, she was still tired. "You?"

"Same."

They laid there in silence for a few more moments. They were both so happy. They had slowly been growing closer over the past few months, but when they woke up that morning they knew that everything would be okay between them. They knew that they were right where they were supposed to be. They had nothing to worry about; Jamie was with Karen and Lily, it was the first day of winter break so they didn't have to go to work, and they were lying in each other's arms—reason enough for everything to be in it's right place.

"So how about I make you breakfast?" Nathan said more than asked.

"Well aren't I in for a treat this morning?"

"You have no idea," Nathan said with a grin on his face.

"I would love breakfast," Haley said smiling as she pulled Nathan in for one more kiss before he got up and left for the kitchen. Haley lay in bed for another minute; she couldn't believe how amazing things seemed right then. She corrected herself; they didn't seem amazing, they were amazing. After a minute Haley got up and went downstairs to join Nathan.

* * *

Peyton woke up the next morning and looked over at the place next to her. She expected to see Jake there, but instead she just saw the crumpled sheets of where he once was. She had a heartbroken look on her face as she remembered what had happened the night before.

_Peyton and Jake walked into Peyton's room alone. Peyton sat softly on the edge of her bed and looked up at Jake. The silence between them was unbearable. _

_"So Jenny's staying at your parents' for the night?" She asked. She already knew the answer, but she had to say something. _

_"Yeah," was all Jake managed to say. _

_Peyton stood, tears forming in her eyes. "Do you have to leave?" Peyton asked, on the verge of crying. _

_It killed Jake to see her like this. All he wanted to do was hold her, kiss her, and allow himself to love her once again. "Yeah," he said in a barely audible voice. _

_Peyton sat back down on the bed, her heart was crushed when she heard that one word. All she wanted was too tell him that she loved him, but she couldn't, it was too complicated already. _

_Jake couldn't be more conflicted at that moment. His heart was screaming for him to go an kiss her and tell her how he felt, but his head quietly told him that this was what he had to do. So he began to turn to leave, listening to his head. _

_"Wait," Peyton said, almost pleading from behind him. "Can you at least stay with me tonight?" _

_For some reason every ounce of will power in his body disappeared at that moment, and he couldn't say no to her. So instead he laid down next to her in bed, and after a while they both drifted off to sleep._

"Looking for me?" Jake asked. He was sitting in Peyton's desk chair across the room so she didn't see him when she woke up.

"I thought you had left already," Peyton said, almost embarrassed.

"I would never leave without saying goodbye Peyton."

After a moment that felt like hours of silence, Peyton finally asked him the question he was dreading.

"Why are you really leaving?" Peyton asked in a tone that was mixed with pain and bitterness.

Jake found himself choking on his words as the pit in his stomach grew larger and larger. He could never lie to Peyton.

"I uh, I—" Jake didn't know what to say.

"Please just tell me," Peyton was now pleading with him. Tear were threatening to form, but she pushed them back for now.

Jake didn't know how to tell her how he truly felt.

"Uh," Jake realized he had to take the plunge. He had to tell her, now or never. 

He had to tell her, now or never, so that they could both move on. Jake choked on the words as he tried to form them. He had the knot in the back of this throat as if he was about to cry. "Look Peyton, I just think it's best that Jenny and I stay in Savannah and you stay in Tree Hill," he said softly.

"But why?" Peyton was still pleading with him to let her in.

"…Because….because I can't hurt Jenny!" Jake said, his voice surprisingly starting to rise, not to a yell, but to a firm statement. "because if I do what I want, if I tell you how much I love you and that I want to be with you here, then what happens if it doesn't work out?! What happens when you realize that you're still in love with Lucas or whoever. Then not only do I get hurt, but Jenny does too, okay? I love you Peyton, you're the only one in my heart, but I can't be with you if I'm not the only one in yours…it just hurts too much." He finished quietly again.

"Jake," Peyton barely whispered. "You are the only one in my heart. Don't you see? After all these years, it's still you. It always has been. Everything that happened was a mistake."

"You can say that now, but will you be able to say that in a few months or in a few years?"

"Yes," Peyton confidently responded.

Jake was now trying to think of excuses so that he wouldn't have to put his heart on the line. The truth was that he was scared.

"I-, I-, I just ca—" Jake struggled with the words, but Peyton cut him off.

"Please Jake," She was now confident and reasoning with him. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Please just give me one more chance."

Jake was now looking at the ground. He knew that if he looked at Peyton all he would do is go over and hold her. But he couldn't, and now he didn't exactly know why. He was being stubborn. He was trying to protect his heart when all he was doing was hurting it.

For a split second he looked up at Peyton. When she saw the hurting in his eyes, the tears began to stream down her face too. Before Jake could even look back down, Peyton had already come over to him and kissed him. Not a soft, quick kiss, but a long and passionate one. At first Jake was shocked, he didn't know what was going on, but then he returned the kiss, and for a moment their whole world melted around them and it was only the two of them.

* * *

Haley had just finished showering when she came out to see Nathan packing a small bag.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Packing a change of clothes for us. Come on, get dressed, we're going to the beach house."

"As amazing as that sounds, what about Jamie, you know, our son?"

"I called Karen a minute ago and asked when we should pick him up, but she said that he wanted to spend the day with Lily, so she my mom and the kids are gonna do something, I don't know. But now we have the day to ourselves, so I figured we could go out to the beach house…so lets go!" Nathan said playfully at the end.

Haley stood there smiling for a moment, watching Nathan, impressed by his romanticism.

"Come on!" Nathan stressed, seeing that Haley wasn't moving.

"Okay okay, I'm going!" she responded as she went to her drawers to get a change of clothes.

* * *

Nathan fumbled through the plants around the front door of the beach house. Finally he found what he was looking for. He showed Haley the spare key and quickly moved to unlock the door.

"It's gonna be a great day," Nathan said with a smirk on his face.

"You bet you're a—WHOA!" Haley stopped dead in her tracks as she and Nathan walked in on a scene they weren't expecting.

"Oh my god!" Brooke screamed as she scrambled out from under a shirtless Lucas.

"Watching you two make out," Nathan laughed to himself. "So it'll be an interesting day."

Nathan and Haley let out a small laugh as Brooke and Lucas stood there embarrassed and confused.

"What the he-" Haley was still trying to catch her breath as she spoke. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked in a deeper and calmer voice.

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be on some island in the middle of the Caribbean by now?" Nathan cut in.

"We kinda missed our flight," Brooke said quietly, still reeling from what had just happened. Though it really wasn't a big deal, she could still hear her heart pounding from how surprised she was.

"Yeah, so we made some calls to try to get another flight or something, but that didn't work out too well…so we just called your mom and she said we could have the place for the week. We figured, by the beach, secluded, sounded perfect…until you two showed up." Lucas said in a joking matter.

After a moment of silence, Nathan finally spoke up.

"So, uh, we should go I guess…" He didn't know what else to say, so he picked their bag up off the floor and began to turn.

"Wait!" Brooke said feeling guilty. "You guys wanna hang out for the day? It'll be fun, we can do whatever and then eat dinner together." Brooke suggested.

"Uh, sure?" Haley said, not expecting that reaction from Brooke. Haley half expected Brooke to be freaking out at them.

"Thanks Brooke," Nathan said. "Why don't you invite Peyton and Jake, then it'll be a real party," Nathan said sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood.

"That's a great idea Nate!" Brooke said with her classic bubbly tone.

Lucas had a look of pure disappointment on his face.

"Don't worry," Brooke said, patting Lucas on the chest. "We will still have a week to ourselves here, which gives me plenty of time to have my way with you." Brooke said kinking an eyebrow.

Lucas clearly began to blush as Nathan and Haley just looked down in a funny yet uncomfortable moment that only Brooke was oblivious too as she went to go get her phone and call Peyton

* * *

Jake and Peyton were now on the bed passionately kissing. They had been away for so long that they savored every touch. Jake suddenly pulled away. As he lay on top of Peyton he lifted himself up slightly and looked at her. They looked into each other's eyes, knowing that they were finally where they were supposed to be. Just as the Jake was about to say something, the phone rang.

"Please don't pick it up," Jake said quietly.

"I won't"

They lay there for a minute silently. They smiled and stared into each other's eyes waiting for the phone to stop ringing. They listened to each ring carefully, hoping that it was the last one. Finally it subsided. Jake was about to begin speaking when he was interrupted again, this time it was a familiar tune that played from Peyton's cell phone. He groaned in frustration.

"It's Brooke," Peyton said blankly.

"How do you know?"

"Her personalized ring," She said with a smirk on her face, remember when Brooke decided that she needed her own ring for when she called.

"I think I may have to get this one," Peyton said in a slightly sarcastic manor.

Jake lifted one of his arms, allowing Peyton to slide out from under him and get her cell.

"Hello?...Hi Brooke, shouldn't you be on a plane by now?...oh…ohhhh….um, I guess…okay…bye Brooke."

Peyton turned to Jake with a puppy dog look in her eyes.

"What did she want?" Jake asked disappointedly.

"How would you like to spend the day at the beach?"  
"You know its winter right? The water is freezing."

"Okayy," Peyton said. "How would you like to go to the beach HOUSE?"

"Umm, is that a trick question?" Jake asked half serious.

"I know, I know. But apparently Brooke, Lucas, Nathan and Haley are there now, so…"

"Alright, but let me just call and check on Jenny, then we can go." Jake said, giving in.

"Thank you!" Peyton said, surprised at how excited she was to go out there.

* * *

Everyone is at the beach house….

The girls spend most of the day together while the guys watch basketball games. They guys surprisingly made a great dinner. Everyone was enjoying themselves, reminiscing over the past few months, and even over the past few years. Long after dinner everyone was in the living room. They were spread out in their couples on the couches and the floor. But they were all together around the fire that burned brightly next to them, the one that burned brightly in their eyes.

Lucas was the first the break the silence that they had been sitting in for more than a few minutes.

"This is pretty perfect, isn't it?" Lucas said quietly.

Everyone smiled nodded their heads. They all knew what he was referring to. He was talking about their lives, they had all found their true loves, for once there seemed to be no major drama. Everything had somehow fallen into place, and they didn't want anything to change because in that moment, they were all genuinely happy.

Brooke felt a tear slowly make its way down her cheek. She tried to wipe it away before anyone could notice. Too late.

"What's wrong pretty girl?" Lucas asked her, concerned over what had suddenly changed.

"Freaking hormones!" Brooke frustratingly sighed. Just as suddenly as her mood changed, she got up her place in Lucas arms and made her way to the back porch.

Everyone except Haley looked at Lucas in bewilderment. Haley motioned for Lucas to follow Brooke. So he stood, grabbed the blanket off the floor and followed her.

Lucas made his way outside to check on Brooke. Once he was out there he saw Brooke shivering as she stared off into the distance. He wrapped the blanket around her, and then his arms around her too when he noticed that more tears had already fallen. It killed him to see her so said, and it made him feel even worse when he realized he didn't know what was wrong or how to make it go away.  
"What's on your mind?" He asked softly.

"The future," Brooke answered simply.

"Oh…and what about it?"

"Do you think we're ready?"  
"As long as I have you by my side," Lucas said, then he put his hand to Brooke's stomach. "And our child is safe, I will be happy. So I know if I have that, then I'm ready for the future."

Brooke turned to him and smiled.

"You know how ch—" Brooke began to say how stupid and corny he sounded, but Lucas cut her off.

"I know how I sound, but it's the truth." and with that he kissed her on the forehead and pulled her closer into his arms. "It's cold out here; you wanna come back inside with me?"

Brooke nodded her head. Lucas led her back inside to their waiting friends.

When they got back there was another moment of awkward silence because everyone was wondering what happened with Brooke. Haley knew it was just the pregnancy causing her emotions to go into overdrive, so she quickly thought of something to say to get Brooke's mind off of that.

"So have you guys thought of names yet?" Haley asked.

Brooke brightened at the question.

"Not yet, we're waiting to find out the sex first." Lucas responded.

"Don't worry tutor mom, I've been thinking about it for a while," Brooke said with a smile on her face.

Lucas raised an eyebrow at this, not knowing that Brooke was so excited.

"So do you want a boy or a girl?" Peyton asked.

"Well clearly this one wants another basketball playing Scott boy, but of course I would like a little cheerleader of my own," Brooke answered playfully but truthfully. Everyone laughed at her answer.

"I should've expected that answer," Peyton said.

"I mean we probably won't know for at least another month or so…I don't know, all I know is that I'll be happy no matter what."

"Me too!" Lucas chimed in.

Everyone laughed at Lucas' sudden response.

"So!" Brooke said, changing the subject and pointing to Peyton and Jake. "You two never spilled the beans. What's going on?" Brooke pried.

"Oh," Peyton said shaking her head and waving her hands. "We're not going there. Not tonight."

"Yeah, we have plenty of time to discuss that," Jake said, clearly alluding to the fact that he wasn't leaving. This caused Peyton to smile, which didn't go unnoticed by everyone, especially Brooke.

"Okayy," Brooke said as she smiled, kinked an eyebrow and leaned back only Lucas chest.

After a few minutes, everyone ran out of things to say, the just lay there watching the fire.

"Mmm, I'm ti...red," Brooke whispered to Lucas between yawns as she lay her head back on his chest and slowly closed her eyes.

Lucas kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair as he closed he eyes too. "Goodnight pretty girl," he whispered back.

Soon everyone was sleeping.

* * *

The next morning Brooke slowly woke in the same position that she went to sleep in. She carefully sat up, trying not to wake Lucas. She looked around the room, but instead of seeing her friends like she expected, it was empty. She turned around and started to nudge Lucas.

"Lucas, wake up." She repeated in a soft but loud enough voice to get Lucas moving.

"Hey there," He said with a smile on his face as he stretched his arms back.

"Where is everyone?" Brooke asked, clearly a little freaked out.

Lucas sat up and looked around the room. "Ummm, I don't know," He answered.

Brooke stood up, grabbed Lucas' hand and dragged him to the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked trying not to be annoyed.

"Looking for them, duh," Brooke said. She let go of his hand and moved into another room looking for everyone. Lucas stayed back and moved to the fridge to get some orange juice to wake him up.

"Hey Brooke!" Lucas called as he lifted a post-it off of the refrigerator door. "Come here! I think Haley left us a note." Lucas said, instantly recognizing the handwriting.

"Well what does it say?" Brooke asked as she walked back into the kitchen and over to Lucas.

"Um," Lucas said, about to read the note. "'Hey guys, we figured we'd leave the honeymooners to themselves. Have fun. See you in a week. Call if you need anything'…that's it."

"That's it?" Brooke asked.

"Uh huh…so what do you want to do now?" Lucas said smiling.

"Anything I want?" Brooke asked coyly.

"Anything you want,"

"Hmm," Brooke responded, kinking an eyebrow with a look on her face that Lucas could never mistake.


	15. Chapter 15

Two months later…

Lucas and Brooke had just settled into their first class seats for their flight to New York. Lucas didn't want Brooke flying, but she convinced him to even come with her. She was asked to present at the Fashion Rocks concert, and she desperately wanted to go. She told Lucas she wanted to go because it was for a good cause and that she had never said no to a presenting invite. But Lucas knew the truth. Though everything she said was true, there was more; Brooke missed the spotlight, she missed New York, and she missed the people she left behind. So Lucas decided that it would actually be good for Brooke to go, but he didn't want to leave her side, so he went with her. Brooke would be going to meetings for Clothes' over Bros, meeting NY friends, and so forth, so Lucas bought himself a ticket the next Knick game and figured he'd catch up on his reading.

Brooke had a concerned look on her face as she watched Lucas as he stared out the window.

"Are you okay?" Brooke finally asked him

"Yeah I'm fine."

"I'm sorry about the other night," Brooke said, not knowing how to comfort him.

"Thanks, but it's not your fault. We just lost," Lucas said blankly.

"Well put it this way," Brooke said, taking Lucas hand and placing it on the now clearly showing baby bump. "When you win states next year, you can have your son there with you," She smiled she spoke.

Lucas turned to her, smiled faintly, and kissed her forehead. "I know, I know…I promise I'll be fine by the time we get off the plane…I just need to…reflect."

With that Lucas turned back towards the window as the plane was taking off. He closed his eyes and remembered what had happened two nights ago.

_Lucas and Nathan sat on the bench inside the now empty gym. Everyone had gone home. There were no celebratory balloons or confetti on the floor. They told their team they would speak to them the next day, so they left too. Lucas and Nathan were left in the eerily quiet gym. As if on cue, Lucas and Nathan both looked up at the same time. They looked at the score board. It read Ravens: 59 vs. Guest: 63. They lost by four points. A 15-1 season, and they lost in the first round of the playoffs. They couldn't believe it. They stood up together, and as if reading each other's minds, as if knowing what the other was feeling, they both spoke at the same time. _

_"There's always next year," they said, trying to convince themselves that it wasn't as crushing as it felt. _

_They nodded at each other, hugged, and walked out of the gym together._

Lucas turned around and put his arm around Brooke, pulling her closer. She closed her eyes. Only a few hours, she thought, then she'd be back in New York.

A few hours later they landed at JFK, got their luggage, and got into the car waiting for them to take them to their hotel. Once they got there Brooke met with her executives and her friends. Lucas went to his basketball game, and tried not to think about his loss the other night.

* * *

The next night Lucas was sitting on the hotel bed flipping through the channels.

"Come on Brooke! We're going to be late!" He called to Brooke who had spent the last two hours getting ready in the bathroom.

"I'm coming!" She shouted back. "Trust me Luke, you don't want to piss me off tonight!"

Lucas was about to say something else, but after her last comment, he smartly decided against saying something else.

After another two minutes Brooke emerged from the bathroom.

"W-wow" Lucas managed to say, he was in awe of how beautiful she looked.

"Don't even go there Lucas Scott! I look fat! And you did this to me!"

Lucas stood and walked over to her.

"You look incredible to me, you always will," he said in a soothing voice. With that, Brooke's frustration quickly melted away and she took his arm as he led her downstairs to the limo that waited for them.

* * *

When they got to the red carpet, Brooke squeezed Lucas' hand. He could see it in her eyes that she was nervous. She had done what seemed like hundreds of these events, but she had never gone to one 5 months pregnant. Lucas leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"You're gonna be great Brooke, the world doesn't stand a chance." She smiled at his words as he kissed her on the temple.

The couple made their way down the red carpet. Brooke spoke to all the necessary people and said all the right things as usual. She kept each answer short and sweet, and made her way down the carpet next to Lucas as fast as she could. Unfortunately for Brooke, Sheryl was waiting at the other end.

"Hi," Brooke said. Lucas could sense the tension in her voice so he pulled her closer.

"Well, I said everything I needed to say yesterday." She said as she gave Brooke a death stare. "Why don't you two head inside and get settled." Sheryl continued.

Brooke nodded her head and led Lucas past Sheryl and into the large room where the event was being held.

Lucas and Brooke watched the performances and the presentations together. About an hour into the show, a man came and tapped Brooke on the shoulder. He told her that she had to go backstage and get ready to present.

Brooke turned back to Lucas with a nervous look in her eye. He kissed her softly on the cheek and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Brooke stood and left with the man from the crew.

Five minutes later Lucas heard the announcer.

"Please welcome the founder of Clothes' over Bros, Brooke Davis, and from the band Fall Out Boy, Pete Wentz."

Lucas quietly laughed at who Brooke was presenting with. Figures, he thought.

"Thank you," Brooke and Pete said as they walked up to the microphone.

"Well you look positively glowing," Pete said in a flattering tone to Brooke.

"Thank you," She said sincerely, "you don't look too bad yourself."

"Why thank you….So I think the question on everyone's mind tonight is where has Brooke Davis been all this time?"

"Back home in Tree Hill," She answered simply with a smile on her face.

"Riiiiight." Pete said then he turned to the audience. "Well here's something no one here knows… as lucky as I am to be standing here with Miss Davis tonight, I can say that this isn't the first time I've met her. And I know that most of you are thinking, no big deal right? Well the only other time I've seen Brooke was a very long time ago. This was about 5 years ago when she was still a bubbly cheerleader….Don't worry, it's not as dirty as it sounds." He said playfully. Everyone laughed, even Lucas.

"Riiiight," Brooke chimed in. "You see my best friend organized this amazing concert and CD to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Society. Fall Out Boy was kind enough to come all the way down to Tree Hill, North Carolina to perform for us." Brooke said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Yes, but that's not where I met really Brooke, though I'm sure I met her in passing. When I really got to know Brooke was the next weekend…and I already have her blushing!" Pete said, still playfully. "I haven't even gotten to the good stuff. She must know what's coming."

"Oh how could I forget?" Brooke said, clearly embarrassed for what he might say next.

"So Peyton, the girl who organized the concert, turned out to be a pretty amazing person and I of course wanted to get to know her better. So it turns out that she and her friends were going out to some house in the middle of the woods to get away from all the drama for a weekend. So I met them out there."

"Yeah, no one thought you'd come." Brooke said, playing along.

"And I proved everyone wrong," He said with a goofy smile on his face.

"So I got to hang out with Peyton, Brooke and some of her closest friends. One of which was her boyfriend AND future husband Lucas. Pretty cool guy," Pete said shrugging.

"I know," Brooke said with a smile on her face as she winked in Lucas' direction.

"Right, so everyone turned out to be fun and welcoming, well sort of." Pete said, clearly alluding to Rachel. "Anyway, so the point to all of this is that a really got to know Brooke, the future head of a multi-million dollar company, through one interesting game of 'I never' wh—" Pete was going to continue, but Brooke cut him off.

"Let's not go there. That night is going to stay between the people who were there and no one else." Brooke said not wanting Pete to elaborate.

"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." He responded. "But you have to admit. It's one hell of a story."

"In case you haven't realized, I'm pregnant, which means a lot of hormones going crazy, you don't want to go there tonight, or ever for that matter." Brooke said in a joking tone even though she was begin serious.

"Point taken," Pete said before fake clearing his throat and everyone laughed. "So, now that I've wasted enough air time with this…story. We should get to the point, which is that Brooke and I have been interested in helping others for a long time now. Tonight is no different…" Pete and Brooke continued to give their presentation as Lucas smiled on at his wife with admiration…and a little embarrassment.

* * *

The event finished and as Lucas and Brooke were getting ready to go, what seemed like thousands of reporters began to ask her questions.

"Get me out of here Lucas," She pleaded as she leaned into him, visibly tired. She turned to the press. "I'm a little tired guys, but if you're all still interested in talking to me tomorrow, you can find me at my office at 10 AM and I'd be happy to give you your story. Okay?"

Brooke and Lucas turned to leave, but they turned right into Sheryl.

"What the f—" Sheryl tried to compose herself. "What was that?"

"Nothing, just playful banter." Brooke said, getting more tired by the minute.

"No, I understand that. That we'll discuss tomorrow, but what was you blowing off the reporters?"

"I'm tired, and unless you want me collapsing again, I suggest you let me go back to my hotel room. I will see you tomorrow when we can talk about everything. Good night." Brooke said now a little frustrated.

Lucas sensed her oncoming mood swing and quickly stepped in.

"Come on," He said and place his hand on the small of her back gently. "Let's go back now."

She smiled softly and allowed Lucas to lead her out.

* * *

Brooke woke up the next morning to see Lucas coming into the room sipping a cup of coffee. He handed her a glass of orange juice as he sat on the bed next to her.

"Morning sleepy head" Lucas said.

"Morning. What time is it?" she asked, still a little groggy.

"9:30," He replied.

"Ugh," She groaned. "I have to get to the office soon." She complained as she fell backwards on the pillow.

Lucas chuckled a little at the sight of her. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the head.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," he said. Then he got up and made his way into the bathroom.

Brooke sat back up and turned on the TV. She flipped right to E!. After watching for a few minutes, they began to talk about the event last night. Of course Brooke was one of the top stories. She sighed and turned off the TV knowing that she didn't need to watch this. When she got into the office that day Sheryl would have tapes of whatever she appeared on. Brooke reached for her blackberry to see what happened last night. Brooke for once didn't know about what had happened at the after parties because she left early with Lucas; something she was both fine with and disappointed with.

As Brooke reached for her blackberry something caught her eye. Brooke got up and made her way to a small plastic bag in the corner. Curiosity getting the best of her, she opened the bag that read " Madison Square Garden" on it. She pulled out the contents. She looked at the blue onesie that had the Knicks' insignia on it. She smiled softly, but was startled when she heard a voice from behind her.

"That was supposed to be a surprise," Lucas said softly from behind her.

"Sorry," she offered. "I couldn't help it," she said with a look on her face that Lucas could never be mad at.

"It's okay, I just wanted it to…never mind." he realized it didn't matter. After a brief moment of silence Lucas continued. "Are you happy?"

Brooke didn't know what he was talking about.

"I mean, I KNOW you wanted a girl, don't try to deny it, but are you okay? Are you happy?" Lucas said carefully, not wanted to upset her, but he had to ask.

"You're kidding right?" Brooke said, half offended, half jokingly.

Lucas didn't answer.

"I couldn't be happier," Brooke said with a genuine smile on her face. "How could I not be? I have everything I every wanted."

"I know, but st—"

"But nothing." She said then continued sternly. "Lucas, I would never be upset about something like that. Do you have any idea how excited I am? I know I don't really show it, but that's because I'm scared…"She trailed off; surprised that she had just confessed something that had been bothering her for a long time.

"You're going to be an incredible mother Brooke," Lucas reassured her. He then placed his hands on her stomach. "Our son is going to have an amazing mother." He said with a smile on his face.

"I love you Lucas," Brooke said quietly.

"I love you too, Pretty Mom," Lucas said, emphasizing the last word which made Brooke smile.

"And besides," Brooke finally spoke again. "You never know, he could have a little sister one day."

Lucas smiled at her words. "He could definitely have a little sister one day." He said and then kissed her softly on the lips. He pulled away and was about to stand back up when Brooke pulled him back. She pulled him into a deeper kiss. Their lips locked tightly and for a moment, just a moment, nothing around them existed. When they both needed air, Brooke slowly pulled away with a soft smile on her face.

"Wow," was all Lucas said.

"Yeah," Brooke said. "…But unfortunately I have to get ready now."  
"Right," Lucas realized she had to leave soon.

"Will you come with me?" Brooke asked in a barely audible voice.

Lucas didn't understand why she needed him there.

"Please," Brooke continued. "They're going to be asking a lot of questions, and I don't want to do it alone."  
"Are you sure?" Lucas said, he didn't want to intrude and he didn't know if he could even help her.

Brooke nodded her head. "Please Lucas."

"Of course," he said and kissed her again.

After that Brooke got up and got ready to go. She took Lucas down to midtown and showed him her offices. Everyone wanted to meet the famous Lucas Scott, so she left him to talk to some people while she met with Sheryl, who was not in a good mood.

Brooke sat quietly with Sheryl and watched all of the tapes she had. Apparently the Brooke Davis story was getting bigger by the second. Brooke sat and listened to Sheryl rant for about 10 minutes about how horribly things could've gone. Brooke somehow managed to calm her down without getting herself worked up which to Brooke was a miracle.

A few minutes later her assistant knocked on the glass doors.

"They're here for you,' She said nervously from the doorway.

"Send them in, but send Lucas in first please," Brooke said.

"Are you ready for this?" Sheryl asked.

"Please, I'll be fine." Brooke said nonchalantly as Lucas walked in.

As it turns out, Brooke was right, her story was a lot bigger than she had expected.

"So you got pretty lucky last night being paired up with someone you knew?" one reporter asked.

"Yeah, Pete's an amazing guy and it was nice to see him again. But honestly, I couldn't believe how lucky I got, "she continued and then looked over to Lucas. "I figured I'd end up with someone like Chris Keller."

Lucas laughed at her comment.

"So the story he told last night?" another one asked.

"Completely true," Brooke said.

"Any chance you could elaborate some more? You cut him off last night before he finished."

"Not a chance in the world," Brooke calmly responded.

"So you've been working from Tree Hill all this time?" one asked.

"I have,"

"Don't you miss New York," he asked again.

"Yeah, I do," Brooke said seriously. "I miss the excitement and the people, but honestly, I couldn't be happier in Tree Hill. It's my one true home with all of my friends and family."

"So do you know whether you're having a boy or a girl?" another reporter asked.

Brooke looked over at Lucas, who nodded as if to say it was okay for her to tell them.

"Well it seems as though the Scott family is only capable of producing males, so yes, we're having a boy." Brooke said smiling.

Lucas laughed again at her comment. He was amazed that even though she was nervous and under a lot of stress, she was the same cheery girl.

"Congratulations, so when are you going back?" some one asked.

Brooke looked at her watch. "Um, in a couple of hours, actually."

After a few more questions about Lucas and her personal life, they finally began to ask about Clothes over Bros, much to Brooke's relief.

After about an hour, everyone left, and Brooke was left in her office with Lucas.

"Thank you," she said

"For what?" Lucas asked.

"For being here with me"

"I didn't do anything, you did it all."

"Thanks, but it helped to know you were here with me."

"Well then I'm glad I could help," Lucas said with a childish grin on his face.

Brooke looked out the window and at the view of the city.

"Let's go home."


	16. Chapter 16

Three and a half months later…

Lucas was walking down the corridor towards the waiting room, he was still in scrubs. He could barely wrap his head around everything that had happened. It was like the day's events were jumbled into one big haze now. He remembered waking at 4:30 to the sound of Brooke's panicked voice. He remembered being in the car, speeding towards the hospital. He remembered holding her hand and telling her to breathe. He remembered seeing his son for the first time, and then he remembered watching Brooke begin wheeled out of the room.

As he walked into the waiting room he saw familiar faces. Haley, Nathan, Jamie, Peyton, Jake, Jenny, his mom, and Lily were all there. When they saw Lucas enter the room, they all jumped up and stared at him in silence, waiting for him to speak.

All Lucas could do was break out into a huge smile, and when he did all of his friends and family went over and hugged him tightly. When they finished practically suffocating him they started asking questions.

He put his hand up to try to silence everyone.

"Our son is fine, he's doing great, very healthy," Lucas said with a proud smile on his face.

"And Brooke?" Peyton asked,

"She's doing great too, she's sleeping now, I'm gonna go back and stay with her." Lucas said, he was about to turn and leave.

"Uh are you forgetting something Luke?" Haley said, a little annoyed.

Lucas turned around with a confused look on his face.

"You never told us the name you picked out," She said.

"Evan Keith Scott," Lucas said with a smile on his face. "I'll come find you guys when you can see him." And with that Lucas turned around and headed back to Brooke's room.

A half an hour later Brooke woke up in her hospital bed. She pushed herself up so that she could look around the room, where she saw Lucas sitting in the chair beside her bed with their son in his arms.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey," Lucas said looking up, a bright smile coming across his face when he saw her. "Pretty mom."

Lucas stood with Evan in his arms and slowly walked to Brooke where he placed Evan into her arms.

"He's beautiful," Brooke said with a tear in her eye.

"He is, you did amazing today," Lucas said softly.

Brooke was about to speak when they heard a knock on the door.

The whole gang came into the room to see the new family.

"Heyyy," Haley said in a way that Brooke would enter a room.

"So guys, would you like to meet our son?" Lucas asked.

"You're kidding right?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, is that even a real question?" Peyton added.

Lucas shrugged.

Everyone took turns holding Evan. They all said their oohs and aahs. Lucas and Brooke had the smiles of proud parents on their faces the whole time. After a while Brooke began to get tired and everyone started to leave. Karen and Lily were the first to go, and then Jake, Peyton, and Jenny soon left too.

Haley, Nathan, and Jamie stayed a little longer.

Haley and Brooke were talking in hushed tones together while Lucas, Nathan and Jamie were on the other side of the room. Evan had already been taken back to the nursery place.

"I can't believe this is all really happening." Brooke said. "I mean it feels like yesterday that I was getting on the plane."

"I know, it's been an interesting 9 months," Haley replied. "But Brooke," Haley continued as she stood up. "You're going to be an amazing mother, I know it."

"Thanks Hales,"

Haley nodded her head. "I'll see you soon," she said as she gave Brooke one last hug and motioned for Nathan to say his good byes. He did, picked up Jamie, and began to leave.

"He was so small!" Brooke and Lucas could hear Jamie saying as they walked out the door.

"I know, but guess what? You were once that small too," Nathan told his son.

"Really?!!" Jamie asked amazed.

"Yeah little man," Nathan said laughing a little.

After they could no longer be heard Lucas turned to Brooke.

"So that was an eventful day," Lucas said, stating the obvious.

"It was," Brooke said, still smiling.

"You were amazing Brooke, you know that?"

"Thanks, Luke," Brooke said now visibly tired.

"You should get some sleep," Lucas said quietly now. He leaned over and gave her a soft but lingering kiss on the lips. "I love you," He said. He didn't pull away, he just stayed an inch from her face with his eyes still closed.

"I love you too."

"Goodnight Pretty girl,"

"Goodnight…dad," Brooke said softly as she turned to go to sleep. Lucas was motionless, smiling at his new nickname.


	17. Chapter 17

Another three months later…

Brooke walked quietly up the steps to their house. He was still a little out of breath from her morning run. She and Lucas had finally gotten into a good routine which allowed both to go for their morning runs and then get into a busy day of tending to their three month old son. She sat on the highest step and looked inside the plastic bag she was carrying.

She pulled out the book inside, she ran her hands down the spine and across the front cover, tracing the letters with her fingers. Today was the day that Lucas's much awaited second book came out. She used to run as a way to go get it; Lucas wouldn't show it to her before it came out, and he was embarrassed for her to read it in front of him. So she left for her morning run and ran straight for the bookstore in town.

She opened to the back cover and began to skim the reviews.

"A heart felt tale that somehow outshines his first installment," one of the reviews read.

"…A wonderful story of the pain and heartache that comes from losing your true love, fighting for her, and then the heartache that comes when you find her."

"Truly inspiring…makes you want to fight for the things you want most, because as he shows, if you fight hard enough, you may find what you're looking for…"

Okay, I get it, it's a great book. Brooke thought to herself even though she was impressed by how well it was reviewed. She turned to the front page to read the dedication.

"To my friends and to my family. The love of my life and my new son…"

"As happens sometimes a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And time stopped and movement stopped for much much more than a moment. And then the moment was gone." –John Steinbeck.

After reading the dedication Brooke turned to the first chapter.

"In the past six years of my life, I have come to find that what defines us is a series of moments. The ones that make you happy, the ones that break your heart, and the ones that make you believe in something more. As you may know, in the four years that I spent in high school, more than enough happened to my friends and I. Drama ensued every which way we turned, but somehow we managed to get out with the only real scars being in our hearts. Little did we know that four years later, we would get a chance to heal those scars once and for all.

Though so much had changed with me over the four years after high school, nothing compared to the moment I saw her again. I saw how gorgeous she looked, I heard her cheery voice again, and I know how much I truly loved her. I couldn't help but stare and admire her as she walked in the room, and when she did I felt as though my life was now in slow motion. In that single moment that seemed to last forever, Brooke Davis walked back into my life…"

Brooke couldn't help but smile at his words. She knew that she now had to read the whole book, filled with their lives in the past year, filled with flashbacks of their hardest times and everything in between. She didn't care, he wrote it all there for her. She wanted to read it all so badly, but she didn't have time; she was still on the front porch. So she turned to the last page and began to read again.

"So there I was, it was another one of the perfect moments in my life. I still can't believe how lucky I am. I'm standing here, watching my newborn son sleep on his first night home. He look's beautiful, peaceful, and I could watch him forever and it still wouldn't be long enough. After a moment I realized I would need my sleep, the next few months, the next 18 years would be hard, but they would also be amazing. I had a family now. I had family and friends who mean the world to me. an amazing and healthy son, and the love of my life by my side. I didn't need anymore than that. So I turned back to my bed and found myself now staring at someone else; my incredible wife. She was sleeping, but still as beautiful and incredible as ever. She was the one. I knew last year, I knew it four years ago, and I know it now more than ever.

These are the moments. The ones to savor. The ones where we step back and really look at our lives. We look at how lucky we are, at what we have and at who we have with us. Because after fighting for the people you love the most; when you finally get to be with them is the moment you to remember for the rest of your life."

Brooke felt a tear slowly glide down her cheek. She closed the book, wiped the tear away and stood. She slowly walked to her front door and opened it. In the living room she saw Lucas and Evan. Lucas was gently bouncing Evan up and down and whispering cute things in baby voices. After a moment he noticed Brooke standing in the doorway.

"Hey," He said.

"Hey," She said back. She made her way over to Lucas and kissed him, and then picked up her son and held him.

* * *

i hope you all enjoyed that! i know that ive updated this everyday (if not multiple times each day) but im going to pause for a while (it may be a few days or until thanksgiving break) because of work and writers block. if you have any ideas for me, please leave them in reviews. thanks! --allie 


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